Brotherly Bonding-Not!
by Foxes-Rock
Summary: Silver was waiting for his life to take a turn for the better; sadly an Obsticale entered his life when he wasn't expecting 'It' too. Now he must Learn that being Young is worse the he imagined, Tomoe is dying as he meets the land-god Mikage; But theres a fox demon that doesn't want him around. Now they must learn that family is more important then pain TomoeXNanami, SilverXLily
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey Guys! Another,Story! heheh. I am using this one Character in here ( I have permission from the creator Ai-Star ) His name is Silver and I simply adore him! XD He's so cool and precious in my thoughts. He's a lot like Tomoe and yet so different. He's a red kitsune, and is a familiar at Mikage shrine. I had a dream/Idea ( No Judging me.. You guys have probably dreamed about hot anime guys too; right? ) So I had this Idea and Ai-Star has helped me through this. XD Enjoy guys..**_

* * *

 _ **Another Yokai At Mikage Shrine**_

* * *

He looked outside as he fixed his Hakamashita to his elbows; he sweeped a piece of red hair out of his eyes and stared at the rain despondently.

It was raining hard and it was splashing, causing great puddles to form on the grass and walkway. The teenage fox ground his teeth as he picked up the basket of laundry that he was supposed to do. He sighed, Mikage had went out earlier but was still yet to return; you'd think a grown man could find his way around... But no.

Mikage was a true idiot. No wonder he had no family or children.

Silver sighed as he carried the basket towards the back room; he would scrub it in a bucket and then dry it in the morning...

That was until the shrine door flew open and made the basket fall from his hands. The fox glared at the person who knocked it so carelessly out of his hands but paused and scoffed as he saw Mikage with a rather, Odd looking, orange rain coat. His glasses were covered with the specks of rain droplets and he had a pose that made Silver want to strangle him; how could someone be so giddy on a rainy day?

The fox narrowed his eyes and glared,

"Well you finally decided to find your way back." The fox spat out as he bent over to pick up the clothes that were now scattered everywhere. He put them in the basket before the rainy weather blew a strong wind through the still open door.

Silver then smelled something that strongly represented another Yōkai. It made his senses cringe in distaste; mostly because it was mixed with the smell of mud and rainwater.

He also smelled blood. It was the irony smell that brought back memories that he liked to keep hidden in the corners of his mind. He cringed as he stood, only then did he notice that Mikage had ran back outside and was now helping a figure in through the door. The fox scoffed at the strong smell of yōkai and he couldn't believe that Mikage couldn't tell. Was this man truly that dense? He was letting a yōkai in! He hissed slightly until Mikage gave him a disapproving look.

"Silver, Please..." He whispered slightly and then smiled brightly. The fox looked at him like he was crazy; that was until the god patted the blanket that was covering the other yōkai's head.

Mikage cleared his throat and then gasped when the yōkai stumbled slightly. Silver glared at the covered figure but then blinked when he saw blood dripping from under the blanket itself... That explained the irony smell, plus it was staining the cherry wood floor...

Somehow it continued to drip until it was a puddle; a puddle that could be considered dangerous...

Silver looked up at Mikage and glared, waiting for an explanation. The god winced and tried to help the figure as it stumbled again, then he looked at his familiar and sighed; Bags formed under his eyes until he reached up and pulled the blanket down from the head of the figure.

That's when white fox ears popped out and shocked Silver; he stepped back and bit his lip in complete shock as Mikage patted the head of a shivering teenage fox. He had long white hair and violet eyes; plus he had blackish red marks wrapping around his face and upper arms. Blood trailed down from his mouth and everytime he opened his lips blood leaked out. He looked worse for wear before Mikage looked at Silver and Motioned for the door.

Silver of course did what a familiar would do and opened the door; but that didn't take care of his shock. This was another fox; and he wasn't too happy to have him in his home.

Mikage helped the other teen in and then looked at Silver as he helped the white haired fox sit. "Silver, This is Tomoe..."

Mikage looked at him as Silver looked back and forth from between them. Was it him or was there a HUGE resemblance between them? He wouldn't say anything... Right now he wanted answers; and he wanted the other teen to stop bleeding onto the floor. "He's going to stay with us for a while..." Silver stiffened and then glared at the shivering teen before him; then the fox, Tomoe was his name, glared back.

As if they both knew that this was a stupid idea.

The red haired fox scoffed at his master and then folded his arms,

" He looks like road kill." He muttered as he continued to hold a glare with Tomoe. He only blinked when Tomoe choked and blood travelled out of his mouth. It was obvious he was cursed...

The marks on his body were probably strangling him slowly, choking his soul out of his solid body.

" Silver..." Mikage sighed and then looked at him; " Lets talk about this somewhere else."

The god gave him a serious look and the red fox nodded sharply. He stomped out of the room, before giving Tomoe one last glare. He slammed the door and then looked over at Mikage who was quickly watching the ticked teen.

" Explain to me why he is here." Silver seethed, his tail flicking about in hate and frustration.

The blood was making him sick but he held that back for later; right now he wanted to chuck Mikage's head across the yard. Mikage took a deep breath and then winced as he looked outside at the rain,

" He's cursed..."

" I can tell that Mikage!" Silver cursed and swore as he turned to glare at the door of the room that held the other fox.

" No..." Mikage sighed and massaged his Temple, " I'm going to erase his memoires Silver." The god looked at him with seriousness and the red head stared at him baffled

If this man erased his memory the curse would go away, what was he planning on doing with Tomoe after that? Let him stay?

" Why?" Silver cursed through his grinding teeth. Mikage jerked his tired eyes towards him and smiled lightly,

" Don't grind your fangs; It not healthy for you teeth."

Silver relaxed his jaw and glared, " I'm erasing his memory because he lost someone very close to him." Mikage winced and looked out at the rain once more, " He lost his life partner Silver..." Silver paused; he didn't know that. Tomoe didn't look like he was old enough for a life partner but then again he looked older then Silver himself. He probably was...

... In fact, Silver remembered hearing about a Tomoe before, but he made notion to say such a thing.

" So..." Silver began but Mikage looked at him sharply. He narrowed his eyes and Silver swallowed; He knew how Mikage was about these things...

" Don't say that. He waited for her... Just like your waiting for her." He narrowed his eyes and Silver clenched his fists, He got in the gods face and bared his teeth in malice. How dare this god even bring up what he was going through? He wasn't going to be compared to some star struck lover from the street side! His situation was far more difficult and Mikage knew that well and clear! Whoever this Tomoe was; Silver doubted he knew his pain to the right extent!

" Don't bring Lily into this!" He seethed as Mikage looked at him sternly. The god didn't seem scared, until Silver hissed and balled his fist, " You don't know what I'm going through! Old man!"

Mikage looked at him through his glasses and shook his head before patting silver's head. It took the fox by surprise; giving that he just blew up at him and almost cussed him out the door.

"That's true; I don't know, But you can't look me in the eye and tell me that you understand Tomoe either; now can you? His lover is Silver. You both have aweful situations that your going through; but I will not favortise one over the other. They're both important to me.." He crossed his arms, waiting for Silver to calm down and stop looking at the god like he was dead meat.

Silver relaxed after a moment; leaving the god slightly pleased with his control.

" You should understand..." Mikage sighed " But then again, maybe you don't? The one your waiting for isn't dead." He unfolded his arms and looked into the crack in the door.

He saw Tomoe sitting in the floor; looking down at his hands. As if the world was killing him. Mikage winced and again... Silver had to admit that Tomoe and the man looked similar. He shook it off and sighed heavily.

" Do as you wish..." Silver ground his teeth, " He's your project. Deal with him as you please." He turned around and Mikage looked at him worried. He watched as Silver got halfway down the hallway, Picked up his laundry and continued on his merry way. The god shook his head; what was he getting himself into exactly?

Two teenage foxes? Both former Murderers and rapists? What was he going to do? Was he going way over his head, or was he doing the right thing? What was he doing... Mikage opened the door just in time to see Tomoe grad his chest and cry out in pain. The marks seemed to dig into his skin and Mikage saw the blood flow speed up.

He reached forward as Tomoe lurched forward, throwing up blood...

" Ah..." Tomoe whimpered, his eyes watering as he shook his head, " I deserve this." He muttered as tears welled up, He shook his head as his matted white hair bounced. He looked at the floor and gripped his stomach in pain before throwing up more blood into the already forming puddle. "I don't have any reason to live anyway..."

Tomoe sputtered as he stared at the blood with no emotion in his eyes. In fact he looked crazed, as if he was considering bleeding himself out in that very spot. Mikage reached down and started to reach forward, but he was shocked...

When Tomoe started to break down; tears streamed down his face as he wailed in the empty room. He bit his lip as the tears shook his body...

The blond god let the fox lay his head on his lap as tears streamed down his face, forming puddles. He shook his head and buried his face into the gods lap; his tears hotly seeping through. Mikage patted the fox's head as Tomoe heaved in pain. The god knew he was dying; the blood proved to be from the inside and there was nothing he could do about that, but he could erase his memory and make the curse stop killing him...

The god touched the fox's head right before he closed his eyes and gave up; he touched it and let light make Tomoe gasp out in pain. After he was finished Tomoe passed out in exhaustion... " Onikiri and Kotetsu"

He looked up at see the little children watching intently;

He smiled and motioned for them to get closer to their new family member, " Ask Silver for a Hakamashita of will need something to wear; then get something to remove from his yukata.'

The children nodded before looking at Tomoe; they were used to people like him. Silver had been a murder as well but they learned that even the worst of people could change. Now they were looking at another one. He squirmed in his sleep; his white hair falling innocently in front of his eyes. Onikiri patted his head and Kotetsu laughed slightly before they ran out of the to Silver.

* * *

Silver ground his teeth before he walked into the one room that held his knew pest. He cursed to himself as he saw Tomoe looking in a mirror at his now short hair. He had woken up later that night, asking questions and hissing even at Mikage. Silver despised this idea...

This teen didn't even know what he used to be! This was just to save his tail end! Tomoe turned and saw the other kitsune; they both glared at each other until Silver shoved his extra Hakamashita into Tomoe's face. The white headed fox glared at him but didn't say anything as he looked at the clothes.

Onikiri and Kotetsu came in and looked at Silver with wide eyes, " Its good to have Tomoe here, right?

They smiled at him and he rolled his eyes. " He's not wanted here." Silver spat out and recoiled when Tomoe sent a death glare.

He clenched his fists and tugged at his bloody clothes before hatefully throwing the new clothes back at Silver's head.

The red fox caught it and then glared at Tomoe, " I don't know who you are but stop trying to give charity! And tell that dumb god to stop to." Tomoe hissed and tugged at his Bloody Yukata as if it was a lifeline.

" Pfft, if you don't want charity then why don't you just leave? Do you intend to freeload? Mikage might not mind but I have to do extra now." Silver fumed as Tomoe glared.

"I don't plan on staying! As Soon as I figure out where I am then I am out!"

Tomoe spewed out and turned his back on the other fox. He glared at the mirror before feeling Silver throw the extra clothes back at his head. Both foxes glared before lighting their foxfires and attempting to kill each other; this is when Mikage had to rush in and stop them from,

A. " Cussing like dogs; Foxes do come from the dog family...

B. Killing each other...

C. Burning the shrine down, (It happened before and he didn't want to mention it...)

" Stop it you two!" Mikage swore out and then looked at Silver; who had to listen because of being a familiar. Tomoe had to be held back...

He swore and then stomped towards the door, making Mikage blink.

" Where are you going?" Mikage asked dryly, making Tomoe pause and look at him. The white haired fox cursed and clenched his fist,

" Out." He muttered before Mikage stopped him and sighed,

" Remember our deal? You have to tell me where and how long..."Mikage tapped his foot and Silver looked at them surprised.

Mikage was that worried about this idiot? Why exactly? He was walking around, acting as if he was perfect. Silver knew how life was... It was painful and ridiculous. But he had a reason to live for it... he was waiting for something; and he wasn't going to let his everyday life push him off the edge...

Yet...

Tomoe cursed and looked at the god before shyly tugging at his short locks, " I want to go for a walk... Maybe an hour?"

Mikage smiled and patted Tomoe's head; this made the fox look at him in shock, and Silver's tail flicked about. He had enough of all of this...

* * *

" WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S YOUR FAMILIAR!?" Silver swore out; his eyes went wide

He had just gone to the market and came back to something shocking; Tomoe looked like he was sulking as Mikage glared at him.

Tomoe looked at him and Silver wondered if it was because of him failing in making tea. He could smell the burnt herbs as soon as he walked in. It was disgusting and nasty; but the most horrid thing was the fact that Mikage had forced Tomoe to be his family... Literally forced him.

Mikage looked at Silver and smiled weakly, " I had too... Isn't this great? You guys get to be brothers!" He smiled and clapped his hands before Silver yanked him by his Yukata and snarled,

" He-Is-Not-My-Brother." Silver glared as Mikage swallowed; His eyes grew wide before he narrowed his eyes and pointed at Tomoe, who... was, in his best way, trying to fix the burnt tea but failing. He looked frustrated and on the verge of killing something.

Silver and Tomoe had not been getting along these last few weeks; in fact they tried to kill each other daily. There was no way he could treat this yōkai as a brother! He didn't want a brother... Not again... He looked away from the white haired teen and swore, Mikage opened his mouth and then pointed at Tomoe before sighing,

" You weren't here when he threatened to kill himself.." Silver hesitated, his grip loosing on the gods red yukata. He blinked in shock as the god fixed his clothes and looked at the red head with stern eyes.

His face was soft but also so very dangerous, "I had too. Tomoe thinks of himself as a pawn; he's done things that send him into night terrors every single night. He may be older then you but he has so much more to learn. He needs guidance Silver. I trust you with this…"

Silver glared, " I do not want to be his guidance.I am not his brother..." He hissed as Mikage slammed his hands down.

Silver jumped in shock as Mikage winced and looked him in the eye. " His fate is more terrible then you can imagine. When he finds someone, preferably human, He will die from his curse. It's going to come back Silver.. I am trying to find a cure; but it's proving difficult. I want him to understand the meaning of life before he decides to take it away with his own hand."

Silver paused... He didn't know what his life would be like when he finally got to see Lily; he didn't know.. But Tomoe... What Mikage said was heart wrenching.

"You saying if he falls in love he'll die?" Silver whispered out in shock. This made Mikage nod,

"But.. I want him to fall in love." Mikage grimaced as looked out over Tomoe. He was now standing on the porch looking up at the moon with his pipe in hand. Mikage wondered if he was depressed. Silver paused,

" You want him to die?" The fox looked at him unsure and Mikage chuckled.

" No, I'm finding a cure. I want him to understand life... and then find someone that makes him feel different to the world around him. Someone that sees past his faults, Guide him like a brother..." Silver paused as he glared at Mikage. He wasn't going to guide him; not yet anyway. Tomoe didn't look like the type to throw himself off a bridge. In fact he looked like the type to get drunk and wasted; not the other way around.

The red head huffed out a breath and glared at Mikage, " Like I said.. Do as you please." He looked away before Mikage looked at him.

" Why are you acting so cold towards him Silver?" Mikage looked at him with a soft smile. It was that fatherly smile that made Silver squirm. He looked at him and then choked as he looked around the warm shrine.

" He's a mirror reflection of who I used to be." Silver looked at him and glared," You can understand why I dislike him; If I dislike my past self then I would dislike the person that looks like who I used to be"

He stood up and scoffed at the god's baffled look. He sighed and shook his head,

" I won't guide him… It's not like he's going to go and slit himself open before the world." He turned his back on Mikage and hmphed to himself. He had chores to do in the shrine; he didn't have time to be a ' Little brother' not again, not ever. The last brother he had he killed, and it was to protect the one he was crazy about. He didn't want the brother title again...

 _He didn't deserve it.'_


	2. Yonomori's River Rush

"You are going to Yonomori's!" Mikage smiled at the breakfast table one morning. You would think this would be a simple announcement, until Silver started to glare at Mikage. Tomoe looked up from his tea and blinked in confusion. He had met Mizuki before a few weeks actually. He fought with him so much that Mikage had ordered him to be stuck to him all day, Silver on the other hand just stood by and snickered. The red head of course didn't stay at Yonomori's shrine like Tomoe had too; So Tomoe was a bit confused as to why he seemed mad.

"What?" Silver hissed and looked at Mikage; clearly an exclamation was needed from both teens. Mikage went quiet before cheerfully patting both of their heads and cooing gently his familiars.

"Now, Now Kids. I'll be back later on. I just want you guys to go there because of Tomoe's injury" Mikage motioned towards Tomoe, Silver however scoffed at how ridiculous the blond man was being.

Tomoe had been attacked by humans not too long ago, ones that attacked had a large grudge against him. They attacked him at a friend's son's funeral. Mikage, Inari and the man who lost his son had found Tomoe bleeding out under a tree in the middle of a rather large wheat field.

Silver on the other hand had stayed home, not wishing to disturb the piece of someone who had passed away. It was a respectful thing to do and he was glad that he wasn't there to witness Tomoe lashing out when it came to dead children.

The red head sipped at his tea and looked at Mikage with a despondent look. The God took this as a threat; the fox was acting to calm and the God knew for a fact that he could attack him both verbally or physically. Both of them were terrifying; even Tomoe had come across his words. But then again they could insult each other like it was normal. It was almost daily that Mikage had to pull them apart from murdering each other; once he told them to take it outside and they literally did. He shuddered remembering the two foxes trying to kill each other in the courtyard of the shrine.

Inari had come just to watch; saying it was better then watching sumos wrestling. The God dragged a hand through his hair as he glared at them both. "You are both going to Yonomori's" Silver's glare had deepened while Tomoe stared down into his tea as if it was turning his stomach with every word. Both of their ears twitched in hate; both knowing they had to listen to Mikage.

"I have important business to attend and I need you both to go, Yonomori will watch Tomoe to make sure he doesn't tear his side open... again" Mikage dragged a hand down his face as Silver swallowed the rest of his tea. Tomoe picked up a piece of bacon and started to chew it without caring about his lack of manners. Silver glared at him angrily but Mikage didn't seem to notice. Mikage's mother, the woman who liked to be called Sobo only smiled. Meanwhile Inari glared at the white haired teen and had told him to slow down. Something about puking all over the night fog carriage, the other fox only glared at him as he chugged down his tea and stood rather quickly.

"I will prepare the carriage. It's a short distance but its still needs to be comfortable, will it not?" He swallowed as he stepped to go; sadly Mikage stopped him and sighed.

"Stop right there." Mikage looked at him and Silver furrowed his brow as the god sighed, "Get your fan and other things. Inari already got the carriage ready, along with Silver." Tomoe glared at the red head only to receive a glare in return.

"Your too weak to be dragging things around. Don't forget what happened to your side kido." Mikage smiled at Tomoe, who returned the smile with an evil glare, oh… He is furious. Inari snorted.

"He ate too fast, Mikage needs to bring a bucket. The carriage isn't the night fog because it only works at night. Its Otohiko's carriage, so It will be swaying a lot" Tomoe sent him glare as Silver ignored them all. He wasn't going to listen this, not this early in the morning. He rolled his eyes as Tomoe carried on about being fine. Sobo even threw in a threat; which made both the males shut up.

Tomoe sent the man a glare before getting up and walking to his room, slamming the door harshly behind him. Silver's tail flicked about as he and Mikage stared each other down. Mikage fixed his glasses and looked at Silver seriously,

"Your glaring won't change things, you're going." Silver's ears flattened, Crap!

* * *

Silver sighed in relief as they made it to Yonomori's. He was just glad to get off the carriage, plus Tomoe did look rather green and it made Silver wonder when he would use the bucket that Inari had brought. He rolled his eyes as he hopped out, trying to get used to the ground after feeling like you were floating for an hour was hard to do. He stood still so he didn't trip over his own feet; ignoring that Lady Yonomori had walked up and smiled brightly.

Yonomori greeted them while Tomoe had actually slept in the back of the carriage.

"Fool…" Silver seethed at how Tomoe was making them look, he didn't care if the white fox had got hurt. He needed to at least open his eyes. This was a God and things were already dicey between all of them. Yonomori smiled and waved, her long kimono sleeve bouncing.

"Ah! Hello!" She smiled and then looked at Mikage, She mouthed 'I talked to him' Silver had a funny feeling that he knew who 'HIM' was. That stinking snake. Even if she did talk to him he was still a prankster and when he pulled those pranks, they got out of control.

Silver knew perfectly well that the snake's new target was the sleeping fox in the back of the carriage. So maybe Silver might soon be able to relax, as Mizuki would start to make Tomoe's life a living nightmare. He smirked to himself and stuffed his hands in sleeves, muttering about how he hated Mizuki. He saw Tomoe twitch in the carriage and then give him a confused and sleepy look before sitting up and noticing Yonomori.

The white haired fox bowed slightly and Mikage chuckled as he climbed out and nearly slipped to the ground like jello, his legs wobbled and Silver smirked.  
"Idiot. You were in an air carriage and you try to stand? How childish of you" Silver asks mockingly, Tomoe sent him a glare.

"You stinkin-"

"Tomoe..." Inari sighed out and quickly guided each foxes apart from the other. Yonomori blinked and laughed nervously before swallowing and motioning towards her shrine.

"I have some teas and food prepared it is pretty early in the day…" She trailed off as Tomoe searched his sleeve for something of his in an absent but rude way. He winced and searched again while trying to find his fan. Something he used as a nervous tick. Silver had caught this without meaning too as well. Tomoe had got teased more then him; thus making his life a bit easier. Sadly Tomoe was new to doing... anything. So Silver had to redo everything. Thus, making his life harder in the working field. He glared at Tomoe who shook his sleeve and watched his fan fall out. He grabbed it and flicked it open, all the while Inari and Yonomori staring at him while looking confused. Mikage winced,

"Um… I'll be back tonight! Be good guys" All three men glared at him as he laughed sheepishly and shut the carriage door with a click. Two minutes later the carriage was in the air traveling far away from their line of sight before it vanished altogether.

Silver rolled his eyes and watched as Yonomori showed them to her shrine, once inside she offered high grade tea. The red head took it and smiled slightly while Tomoe sipped it and both foxes seemed to bask at how it relaxed their muscles. The white haired fox looked around the shrine while Silver glared at him.

How disrespectful; but then again the red head knew more then Tomoe by a long shot. Tomoe almost failed at everything he had set his mind to and Inari was trying to start his training… He needed it badly. Yonomori looked at both teens before smiling and pointing,

"You guys like some fresh air? Its stuffy in here..."

Silver rolled his eyes; he did not want to leave just so she could flirt with Inari. It was sickening to even think of it, giving that Inari was a scumbag if there ever was one. Silver stood up and Tomoe followed. It had been raining outside and it was setting Silver into a bad mood. Tomoe just stayed quite as he glared at the sky and mumbled a few curses under his breath.

Right before Silver corrected him (The words were something a lady should never ever hear; but then again Silver had no right, given some of the words that left his own mouth) Tomoe nearly fell of the porch. The red head blinked in shock as Tomoe clawed at the porches post and glared at the doorway; Silver felt his blood run cold as dread set in. He turned to see Mizuki smirking but giggled in a fake manner.

"Wow Tomoe! I thought you cats could balance?" Tomoe eye's twitched and Silver felt himself clench his teeth at the snake's insult. Then to top it off he cocked his head and looked at them.

"You guys shouldn't be out here, curiosity killed the cat you know." He smiled like a two year old; but there was that saying: 'Terrible Twos' that's when Tomoe lunged forward shocking Silver. He went to strangle the snake, while Mizuki screamed and made his snake come out. Silver stepped off the porch and watched the two fight each other; he shook his head as Inari and Yonomori came out before pulling the two apart. Silver smirked at least it wasn't him.

A few weeks ago it would have been; but now Tomoe was Mizuki's new target. The red head had honestly wanted to leave before he lost all control like Tomoe. The snake deserved to be murdered but that would set the fox back a few years. Silver rolled his eyes as Inari finally got Tomoe to calm down and managed to stop him from overworking his side. Mizuki stuck out his tongue making Tomoe fume. He really wanted to kill that stinkin snake.

Mikage didn't notice the things he had seen in him; Tomoe didn't understand why he was the only one who saw how crude Mizuki was. The snake smirked as his goddess walked back in and then? He spit right in Tomoe's face. The fox glared and rubbed at his face before growling. Silver saw this and paused. Okay… That was harsh, but then again he knew what Mizuki could do. It was obvious, but it was good that Tomoe had now took the red head's place.

"Stupid non holy idiot' Mizuki looked at the fuming Tomoe and smirked, "I bet you can't even do your duties correctly… how pathetic." The white haired fox paused and then looked away making Mizuki smirk even more before laughing.

"Lady Yonomori said we should go to the River." He laughed and Silver narrowed his eyes. Tomoe glared, " It's in the single digits, is she insane?" Silver shot him a glare and shook his head; did Tomoe really just say that a Goddess was off her rocker? Oh, why him?

Mizuki glared back at Tomoe and then nodded. Silver paused, why was it that he had a feeling that Tomoe didn't know the whole extent of what Mizuki could do? Mizuki could do a lot of things. Like trip you in front of everyone, put gasoline of your clothes when he clearly knew you had fire powers.

Silver glared and paused as the snake rocked back and forth on his heels. Tomoe groaned but hopped off the porch to go ahead to the slightly icy river. Silver scoffed at him for being so unexplainably stupid. How in the world was Tome older then him?

He was the youngest servant, aside from the shrine spirits... Wait, no take that back. They were as old as the shrine. So he was the youngest, Silver rolled his eyes and shook his head. Tomoe had no idea what Mizuki could do, he was too childish for his own good. He acted like he owned the world and everyone around him, and it ticked Silver off.

Mikage had tried to remind Silver daily of how hard it is for Tomoe especially when it comes to doing things at the the red head never saw it Mikage said he hides it, but Silver has never even heard a whimper. Tomoe was just someone that acts like a passenger-by. At least that's what it looked like.

All he saw was someone who didn't seem to take things seriously and Silver had a feeling it was like that from the beginning. Sure it could of been because of his memory sweep but he didn't understand why Mikage had to watch over him and why they even looked so much alike. Silver shook his head as Tomoe and Mizuki disappeared down the path.

"Idiot, you're getting yourself into trouble again" Silver glared at the path and ground his teeth.

* * *

Tomoe stared at the rushing rapids and rolled his eyes as the cold nipped at his skin. It was cold and he couldn't explain what type of day it was, the snow had melted on the mountains and now the river was flooded. Even the pointed rocks were covered and being crushed by the rather quick waves.

Tomoe glanced over at Mizuki and saw him throwing pebbles. The fox rolled his eyes, knowing that the rocks wouldn't skip on rapids. The fox looked around and noticed that Silver was nowhere in site, Tomoe rolled his eyes and he drifted into thought for a few seconds; Mikage had to leave, Inari was flirting around and Silver was being Silver.

He didn't really fit into this picture now did he?

He huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes as the sound of the rushing water; it seemed so relaxing but it didn't help his wondering mind. He had come to the shrine and tried to fit into it perfectly; but even the shrine spirits were a bit weary of him. He didn't do anything to them... just to the outside world and he wanted to forget it all. Why couldn't he forget that and yet he forgot how he even got to the shrine? He rubbed his temple and winced as the wind whipped through his hair, chilling him. Tomoe looked up and sighed Mikage was treating him like a child, and he seemed like an annoying father.

Tomoe noticed he seemed to show this care to Silver too, and yet both teens couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other. Maybe it was a territorial thing? Or maybe it was because Tomoe knew who he was, and Silver knew who he was too.

Even the Gods wouldn't let Tomoe come to meetings with Mikage. It was annoying to think so. He had been taken to a familiar festival with Silver and Mikage, but he wasn't welcomed in the least. He stayed home most of the time after that. Silver had gone to the market every once in a while but not Tomoe, he didn't want to go back there. He was threatened there also... but then again; his crimes were still so fresh to the world.

He was new to this whole familiar thing. He looked at Mizuki again and then rolled his eyes. He couldn't do anything; he then spotted a shrimp playing with rocks! Tomoe winced when he blinked, his stomach growled and he bit his lip. Mizuki looked up from his rocks and smiled in a sing song way.

"Too bad you can't eat here. The food is only for Holy Familiars" The white haired fox growled angrily.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about my affairs." he turned to look at the rapids, his eyes following the water. That's when Mizuki smirked and Tomoe felt something behind him. He paused as the snake chuckled behind him.

"Hey Tomoe?" The fox rolled his eyes and turned around to look at the snake. He snarled his teeth and glared,

"What?" He spat out, half expecting for Mizuki to laugh and shove him. It wasn't like at the porch, He didn't have anything to grab, and the shove was far more harsh. It also had more force put into it and Tomoe felt himself lose balance. He gasped when he fell backwards, his body preventing him to grab at anything. The last thing he saw and heard was Mizuki smiling with a stupid smirk on his face.

"Have a nice Swim!" The snake smirked evilly as Tomoe felt his head submerge under the water. His body continued to sink in as he literally tried to claw himself up. But the rapids were carrying him away and making him cringe, both from the frigid cold water and fear.

Then his body was thrown into a rock and he realized that the water was sucking his feet under it. He was pinning to the rock, and the sudden impact made him lose his air. Tomoe choked as he clawed desperately at the surface; his hands didn't even scratch the surface as things started to blur around him. All he heard was the water rushing over him and the terrified screams as they started to fill his own mind.

Oh god...

* * *

Silver grunted as he literally followed to the river. He didn't have anything else to do and staying at the shrine where he could literally hear Inari and Yonomori giggle? It made him gag in distaste. So here he was, walking to the river alone while the air was in the single digits. Silver sighed as he stuffed his fan into his Haori and looked up; he was almost to shocked to even move from what was happening before him. He saw Mizuki shove Tomoe into the river and then he made some comment afterwards.

"Huh… I thought cats had great sense of balance?" Then he smirked. "But then again he is a wild fox" Silver scoffed at him and he ran forwards, shoved him out of the way as he ran. Mizuki looked at him shocked but then he smiled,

"When did you decide to come? Tomoe went back to the shrine and-" Silver glared at him and then rushed over to the shore nearest to the rushing waters. He saw something thrashing and he saw bubbles. But then again, they were starting to fade out and the thrashing was starting to cease as time went by.

The red head cursed and then glared at Mizuki before dunking his head into the water and holding his breath, He opened his eyes but mentally cursed, visibility was hard under river water. He reached forward towards a small movement and he found the back of a haori.

Crap! Silver pulled quickly and then pulled his head from the water. He gasped for air and then dug his sandals into the gravel as he pulled Tomoe put of the water. Once did so Tomoe started to choke and gag out water; it continued to drip down his chin as he grasped the gravel in pain as his chest was burning from the water that entered his body.

Silver cursed and Tomoe froze as he looked up at his top enemy number two.

"Idiot! See why I hate that snake?" The red head fumed as Tomoe blinked and shivered. Then the real fear sat in and Tomoe started to shake from the cold, his eyes watered and soon his tears mixed with the water that continued to run down his face. He was mortified as he crawled away from the bank; he looked at the water in shock and malice. Silver glared at him and then at Mizuki.

The idiot was staring at Silver with shock filled eyes.

No, It wasn't that he had seen Tomoe who was drowning as he had been pinned between those rocks due to the current. It was the fact that he was seeing someone die in front of him that had made Silver cringe. He had enough of death and from seeing people lying there lifelessly for anyone to see. He had seen so much of it that it made him stop to even think about it as a whole. So even if it were someone he had hated even more than anything, he would have saved them from that cruel fate. Putting lives in a bind was something that only idiots did; Silver would know about that kind of thing, after all he had been there and done that one too many times.

Silver began to stomp forward to Mizuki; the snake did not really expect Silver to deck him to the face. Mizuki hissed in pain as Silver glared and bared his fangs in pure hatred.

"For a Holy Familiar you act like a demon who wants nothing more than to hurt others. All because he thinks he better then anyone else!" Silver felt himself breathe out harshly, oh wow… he had wanted to say that for years. Mizuki looked at Silver with stunned filled eyes, he then watched Silver who had turned his glare to Tomoe.

The white haired fox looked at him feeling surprised as the red head shrugged out of his haori and threw it over his head, Use this to get warm idiot. The cold will send you into shock, due to how long you've been in the frozen water" Silver rolled his eyes and then glared at Mizuki. The snake who was still in shock had ran off to get help; all the while still holding his face from where Silver had so gracefully decked him.

Tomoe pulled the haori over his head and tugged it close to retain some body heat, all while his eyes stared at the water. He looked like he was somewhere else completely, almost as if he was in shock even without being in the water. Silver shivered due to the cold air but he kept it to himself. He knew that Mizuki was up to no good, he wouldn't trust him even with a God and that was bad.

Yonomori should have sent him to a camp for training, that's how bad the idiot was in Silver's grunted as he looked over at Tomoe.

The fox was shaking and staring into the water. Silver furrowed his brow; the water didn't scare him that much now did it? It was just rushing water. The red head looked at the rushing water and shuddered slightly. But then again, Tomoe was completely limp when he pulled him out. Then he coughed up so much water that it would be amaze someone. Silver sighed and stared at the fox before shaking his head.

"You know staring at the river isn't going to help. We need to find the others, Mikage should be back soon" Silver turned until a shrill and shaking voice hit his ears. He looked behind him to see Tomoe who was looking at him confused.

"Why?" Tomoe looked at him with shaking eyes; he was holding Silvers haori close and he was shaking violently from the frozen water.

"Why did you save me?" The red head paused before shrugging his shoulders but he did turn around, his back now facing Tomoe.

"Who said I did it for you? You're the idiot who let your guard down and this is what happens. It's weak minded fools like you that will always be the target of torment, and you will always be the one to cause trouble for everyone around you" Silver said coldly as he turned to scoff at him, a bitter look could be seen on his face on his face.

Tomoe looked at him and Silver even scoffed at seeing his surprised look; but he did pause when he saw something flash through Tomoe's eyes. Something that Silver would only see whenever he looked in a mirror- hurt. Ha! As if this fox could really feel any hurt or pain.

"Do me a favour and stop letting your guard down when it comes to the snake. It embarrassing to know that he picks on you because you're reckless. Also, Use your ears and instincts. Why do you think you have those items?" Silver snarled at him for even staying quiet.

"Do you know how embarrassing it was when Yonomori saw you acting like that when we arrived here?" Silver snapped before turning on his heel and walked away. Completely unaware that Tomoe was looking like had someone slapped him. He was trying to do it all right, but he hadn't been a familiar as long as Silver. He was still trying and yet. Everything was crashing down on his head at the moment. The white fox felt his side and pushed down lightly. He winced when pain shot through his body; he couldn't even avoid an injury anymore.

Every time he tried to remember why he was even in this mess; Every time he tried to see through that blurry curtain of memory. Something slapped him and he fell back. Every time he tried to fit in, or even understand himself. He would then learn more and more about how stupid he was.

It made him want to die each day.

* * *

Silver rolled his eyes when Mikage arrived to pick them up; he came rushing in and when Silver wasn't expecting it. He hugged both foxes and started looking over them for injuries. Tomoe was given dry clothes and Silver was left to roll his eyes and curse under his breath. The white haired fox just kept his gaze down, not looking at anyone. It was disrespectful and many times Mikage would ask Tomoe if he was all right, nothing came out of the fox's mouth of course.

He would just look down as if in his own world, Silver scoffed at him and rolled his eyes. Even when they got home Tomoe went straight to bed instead of helping with the shine duties. It turned out that the fool had caught a fever and was now resting in his room.

The thought of sickness in the shrine had made Silver's skin crawl. He shook his head when Inari had stated that he had a high fever. It made sense that the fool would get sick after what had happened. Silver sighed as Mikage ushered him into the room with him, he didn't want to be in Tomoe's room, it wasn't worth it. The red head covered his nose with the tip of his sleeve and gagged from what the fox was seeing.

Tomoe looked pained, Silver was shocked to see his master as he took on the disgusting task of wiping the sweat away from the fox's neck and back. Then Mikage wiped the crook of Tomoe's neck, he lifted the white hair… he froze. Silver didn't get it. He didn't see why Mikage would freeze up like that, and he didn't see why the rag in the God's hand fell in such a manner. But he did see a butterfly design on the back of Tomoe's neck. It had been hidden by his hair and Silver scoffed at it.

"The fool has a tattoo?" Silver muttered more to himself then to Mikage. The God swallowed as he let out a quiet grunt. This took Silver by surprise, why was Mikage looking at that tattoo like it was special? Silver had no idea what was going on and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.


	3. A Family within a Family

Mikage had left again to Silver's dismay, something about going to his mother's house for an important meeting. He didn't understand what was going on with his master; lately things had gotten to strange even for the red head. Inari was always there which in itself made Silver more suspicious of thinking that something was going on.

The idiot would sit there in his lazy bum and act as if the familiars weren't even there. And when he did talk it was to tease Silver about how he wasn't doing something right or how Tomoe looked like a gang member.

Curse him, Silver grunted to himself as he leaned on the doorframe of Tomoe's room; he didn't want to be there. Inari however had told him to observe and since Mikage wasn't there, he had to listen to him. The red head rolled his eyes as Inari asked Tomoe a bunch of stupid, perverted questions that only Inari could pull off.

"So..." Inari paused and then looked at Tomoe. " Do you still make out with a girl in your dreams?"

Tomoe felt his eyes grow wide and he froze up; even Silver seemed to freeze in the doorway. All the while Inari was smirking and enjoying himself a little too much. The white haired fox cursed to himself that was a secret. He did in fact have dreams about a female with a white blindfold. She had to be a demon or something because she thrust him into the darkness every time she would appear. He would always wake up screaming, and then there was the girl with the blurry eyes and voice. The one that held him close and kissed him lightly, making him wonder why his tail would flick about every time even when he woke up. Sadly the girl never did give him a name… just a long talk about his day. When he didn't dream of her, his day was sucky.

He hadn't dreamed of her in a few days or so.

"Not recently." Tomoe choked out. Silver looked at him with utter disgust. He covered his mouth with his yukata sleeve and shook his head, trying to even get the thought to disappear as Inari chuckled and wrote down a bunch of scribbles on his clipboard.

Tomoe saw this and then glared, Curse him...

That's when Silver almost fell over when the door he was leaning on was pulled open. Mikage walked in and blinked as Silver nearly toppled over, seeing this made Tomoe snicker.

"Oh Silver! Why are you lounging about?"

Mikage asked looking at him with wide eyes as the red headed teen sent him a death glare. The god swallowed and backed away from him as Silver recomposed himself. Then Mikage looked over at Tomoe.

He smiled slightly as Tomoe rolled his eyes from having to endure all those questions that he had been forced to answer. He hated the fact that he had to listen to this God as he asked all those stupid questions. He folded his arms and huffed out a breath as Inari nodded and wrote some more scribbles. Tomoe was answering questions as Silver glared at Mikage. He had questions too; but would Mikage really answer them? Mikage knew what he had to go through; so hiding secrets wasn't helping the god. The red head wanted to know why Mikage had been gone the last few days; and why he had been dumb enough to leave him, Tomoe and Mizuki alone. Mikage knew better than to do that, Silver glared at Him as Mikage stared at Tomoe.

The red head didn't get it, what was going on?

Everything didn't make sense anymore, not since Tomoe showed up. The white haired fox was just lying about in his room; A few nights ago Mikage had rushed in but Silver didn't why. To bad he didn't know Tomoe was having a panic attack from a nightmare... The blond god must of felt Silver's glare because he looked back at him and smiled lightly. The fox scoffed at him as Mikage patted his shoulder and then winced.

"Lets go on the porch for sake. It's a full moon tonight. Tomoe won't join, he's to busy with Inari" He smiled fakely. Seeing this made Silver narrow his eyes. Mikage had a reason as to why he wanted to drink; and the fox wasn't sure if he wanted to know why exactly. Ever since Tomoe joined the shrine, ever since he came. Everything had changed and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

Silver at times disliked this new change. Tomoe was in the way and Silver had a hard time focusing on his work when Tomoe was cussing in the background. He was a delinquent with no head on his shoulders, then he suddenly showed up in the shrine and decided that he wanted to stay. Mikage walked out of the door followed by Silver. When they got close to the porch Silver paused and looked down at the floor by the door.

He saw a reddish stain in the wood... he had scrubbed but it stained quickly to his annoyance, there was no helping the floor once the stain had latched itself onto it. He couldn't get the blood out; he couldn't clean up Tomoe's blood. It had stained from sitting on the floor for so long.

Silver remembered when he cleaned it up; the blood continuing to smear over and over again on the floor; his clawed hands tried to get it up but instead it soaked on his skin; its sticky feel nearly made Silver sick, and he washed his hand before he really did so. Now it was a stain, Tomoe had asked where it came from and Mikage had promptly called it paint; but Tomoe had come in many times smelling like blood. Maybe from fights, maybe from people he had slaughtered that night, or maybe it was his own. Silver didn't want to know; he just wanted the idiot to stop from invading the shrine and making it smell that way. The red head hated that smell... The fox sighed heavily as he made his way to the porch and looked down at Mikage. The God was looking at the moon as Silver folded his arms. The wind tossed his hair as he looked at Mikage from the corner of his eyes.

"What is the true reason for coming out here?" Silver looked at him and huffed out in annoyance, "You do know that Tomoe is completely capable of being out here instead of me." He glared at the God who had not said a word.

"Besides, I have duties. Do I not?" Mikage looked at him and chuckled, "You would drink with me and Tomoe on the full moon nights, why do you think that this is any different?" Silver scoffed at him as he sat down and shook his head.

"I am not dull in the head Mikage." He snarled his lip and sipped some sake lightly.

The God chuckled and leaned back before growing quiet. He looked at the teen and sighed as he tried to think of how to say it in a delicate manner. Bringing something like this up to Silver, it would be like a slapping him in the face. Saying a thing like this to him would probably sting, but he had to tell him. Because if Mikage had kept this away from Silver. The red head would most likely never trust him again. Mikage looked at Silver with a soft but serious look.

"Silver..." He paused as the red head paused from sipping before placing the cup away from his lips and looked at him. The wind ruffled their hair. Silver could feel the tension, but nothing prepared him for what was going to be said to him.

"Silver" Mikage sighed, "Tomoe…is, Tomoe is my son... by Blood" Silver almost dropped his sake cup before looking at Mikage, the fox's eyes showing nothing but shock. No… It couldn't be. Not that idiot, but… in a way it did explain a lot of things. The red head swallowed, his hands clenching the cup tightly. He didn't know why but his chest felt heavy. Even that fool... had a father. Silver looked at Mikage and breathed out before looking ahead; what was he supposed to say? Silver didn't know, for he was at a loss of what to say and think now.

"Silver" Mikage sighed and patted his head right between his two red ears. "I know this is a hard to say to you, but Tomoe doesn't know-" Silver swallowed and looked at the God sharply.

"How do you know?!" He paused, trying not to raise his voice in order to prevent himself from lashing out. Mikage sighed.

"That thing you called a tattoo, it's a birthmark handed down through generations. Tomoe has it in the same place I do and when he gets older, his offspring will bear it as well" Silver nodded mutely. So that was how it was, even the person he didn't get along with had a family. Why was that? He had done all the same things that he had done, expect for getting cursed. The red head didn't know what to say.

"Are you going to tell him?" Silver looked at Mikage and then blinked when the God shook his head and sighed,

" No…"

The fox breathed slowly, he didn't understand why... Why would this man say that? Why wouldn't he tell Tomoe about something this important? Yes Silver had to admit he didn't get along with Tomoe. But he thought that he deserved to at least to know the truth of his origin.

"Why?" Silver sent him a sharp look before Mikage sighed out and looked at the fox with a strained look.

"He hates me." Mikage mutters as he looked up at the sky. Silver stared at him before swearing. He wasn't mad at Mikage, no... it was that idiot who had gained a fever. The red head jumped off the porch, swung round and glared at the God with cold eyes. He snarled his lip before scoffing at the God.

"Why? Is he too good for a father? Is he really that spoiled? You should tell him, who cares if he doesn't like it?!"

Mikage looked at him blankly before smiling weakly. "Its not that eas-"

"WHY!?" Silver swore before the God looked at him sternly, probably a look for the swearing for he never did approve of such words. The red head shut his mouth and looked at Mikage with confusion. That's when the God sighed and shook his head. He placed his cup down and stood.

"He's been through to much..." Silver looked at him sharply, why did Mikage have to tell him this? Why? Mikage knew of his predicament. His master didn't think at times! Did he not know how much it stung to find out, that even Tomoe had belonged somewhere and it was with people like him?! He scoffed at the God.

"He's been through a lot? You say he has been through a lot, but I –" Mikage looked at him sharply before Silver blinked. He didn't get it. What did he do? He was only saying the truth and he wasn't putting the God down. He was lucky to even have a son; Silver just wondered why it had to be an enemy.

"He has been through a lot Silver, His mother had been murdered right in front of him at the age of six. He has night terrors that I can't even take away." Mikage huffed out a breath and sighed as he looked up. "He says his mother is a star... and that he will join her soon."

Silver stared at Mikage before releasing a deep breath.

"Then he really is an idiot. Why would he be a star also?" Mikage winced and shook his head.

"That's why I can't tell him, because… I know that he'll hate me." The God chuckled before sighing. This left Silver silent; he didn't know what to say at the moment. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to pretend that his life was normal? It never had been. First Lily and now his master who had a yōkai for a son. Inari was like a uncle and the shrine spirits where the children; and he was the servant.

Silver swallowed slightly before turning and walking to the shrine. He was going to bed early, he didn't have to heart or the right to stand there. His head was swimming and all he had to calm him down was a worn purple hairband, and that was all he had... Who knows how much longer he would have to wait before she would come to take him away from all of this. He didn't know how much longer, but he knew that it could be soon or would she even come at all? He just needed someone to talk too and besides, he wasn't family here...

* * *

By the time it reached two in the morning, Silver had been jolted awake by screaming and a gasp. Hearing this did freak him out just a little bit; Silver rolled over and blinked as his ears twitched with the sounds of running and screaming. Plus rain was pelting at his window; keeping him up and now that he was awake. The fox moaned before sitting up and glaring at his door.

The doors were paper thin, so even a whisper could be heard which in itself was annoying. Given that some of the conversations he could hear going on in the shrine. A loud bang sounded and the fox sat up in surprise. He stood up and walked over to his door before thrusting it open.

He saw a flash go bye his door and he blinked for a second before walking to the living room and almost freezing from what he was witnessing. Tomoe was soaking wet and Inari was trying to help him deal with the sudden high fever. Which meant he hadn't healed at the beginning. Mikage was wet too and the fox wondered what had happened exactly.

Expect for the fact that it was raining outside and Inari was screaming at the other fox for going to the east bridge in the middle of he storm. Silver stood there quietly before Tomoe looked at him with anger and confusion.

"I know you hate me, but I never thought you'd go so low!" Tomoe screamed leaving Silver baffled. The white fox glared at him and then at Mikage before growling, "You knew didn't you? THAT THIS BLASTED MAN IS MY FATHER?!" Silver blinked but then narrowed his eyes and scoffing at the sickly fox.

"Oh? So I'm the fool here? I'm surprised you didn't see it from the beginning. It was obvious given how both of you are complete fools!" Tomoe snarled and glared at Silver but he didn't move. Tomoe was shaking to harshly. He had heard something he didn't want to hear. Mikage was talking to Inari earlier and Tomoe heard it all.

Every detail, every lie. The white fox shook his head. He had went to the east bridge and when Mikage showed up? The fox told him that nothing could make him his father, not after everything he had to endure. Not after the lies and the hate that had messed up his life.

He hated Mikage and his fake smile; he always wondered why he was so happy. He never knew that the man was his stinkin father! It made him sick and it brought back the disgusting and yet colourful memoires of his mother's death. All the blood, all the hate from the moment it happened... everything.

Did the Gods hate him this much? To put him through this type of pain? Even now his body was throbbing in pain from a terrible fever. He couldn't breath, it hurt his head but he didn't care. He would be fine in the morning. He knew he would be, He had to be. But he couldn't look at Mikage! He didn't want to, not now, not ever again. Because the lies were too great in his life and he felt like a pawn on someone's board. He was being used and hurt all over again, and he didn't know what to do about it

* * *

Silver sat quickly in the hall with his back against the wall.

He was supposed to be doing the laundry; but right now he was exhausted due to the lack of sleep. He had been up a lot later than usual, thanks to what happened the night before as he dealt with Mikage and Inari. Now that Tomoe had passed out from the fever, it was now already into evening, Silver looked across the hallway and sighed heavily... He didn't get what was so bad; Tomoe had a nice family now.

The red head looked down at his clawed hands and blinked; when he looked around the corner he could see the blood stained floor. He sighed heavily and started to stand. Today was quiet except for the worried whispers of Mikage and Inari. They wouldn't say anything, and Tomoe wouldn't leave his room. He was acting childish in Silver's opinion, but he was a servant. His opinion didn't matter. The fox bit the inside of his lip and looked blankly at the laundry basket. He wished that Tomoe would just suck it up and show his face already; it was irritating to do everything on his own.

Silver paused, or was it really just his job to do? Was he just a servant here and nothing else? Even the idiot that had stained the floor had a family, whether he had known about it or not. Silver swore and sweeped a piece of hair out of his eyes when he went to pick up the laundry basket. As Silver went to pick it up he paused when he smelt the blood of the floor; He furrowed his brow.

That had happened weeks ago; there was no way he could still smell that irony smell. Silver closed his eyes and even though he hated the smell. He still wanted to know where it was coming from. He breathed in and grimaced as the scent filled his nostrils. It was Tomoe's, he knew of this. It smelled like the stain on the floor but it wasn't that. It was too strong, to fresh for his liking. Silver paused as he followed the scent as it led him down the hall… and right to Tomoe's door. Silver paused in shock before looking at the handle; the smell was coming from there.

It was strong a strong smell that almost made him gag and heave from the metallic smell. Without wasting time the red head gripped the handle before yanking the door open.

Too bad what he saw appalled him more than he would ever admit. It both surprised and disgusted Silver a lot for words to even form, let alone leave his lips. He grew quiet as he looked at Tomoe, but for some reason he couldn't move as images of the past entered his mind. Images of the one he had once considered a brother was lying dead on the floor in a pool of his own blood, only now he was picturing Tomoe in his brother's place no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

Even as he imagined it, it made him want to gag and wrench. Just thinking about it made him want to unravel from mixed emotions, he was so sure that he was able to bottle those emotions away but now this was happening. This was person who he had felt nothing but hatred and resentment to ever since he showed up at the shrine. This was the person that hated him back, but now.

"What the-" Silver paused as he watched Tomoe's claws as they cut into his skin causing it to open; Tomoe slit at his wrists and winced, only then did he notice the red head looking at him in shock. Without warning Silver lunged forward taking Tomoe by surprise.

Silver at that moment had no idea of what he was even doing, but he had to stop this. The thing that was happening in front of him was sickening to his stomach; he felt his insides twist from such a gruesome sight as images of his brother's lifeless corpse entered his mind once again. But now wasn't the time to think about the past, not when this was happening before him. He gripped Tomoe's wrist, twisted it and then pulled it up. Tomoe hissed out and a loud wail escaped him mouth. He bit his lip from the severe pain as it surged through his self inflicted cuts.

"Ow! What are you doing?!" Tomoe cursed out in pain as Silver tried not to look at the bloody mess; his hand was growing sticky from the hot blood that was pouring out of Tomoe's wrist. It had been years since he seen a nasty bloody mess, and it was making him sick. It was taking all of Silver's will power not to release Tomoe and run out the room to throw up, no he could not think about that night again. He did what he had to do to protect her.

Silver slowly moved his head in order to look down at Tomoe and blinked at the white haired fox. The older fox tried to look away in order to cover up his tears, that he desperately wanted to prevent himself from showing. That way no one would know what he was truly feeling. But Silver saw it again, eyes that were filled with hurt and this time he wasn't going to deny that he had even seen it. Silver could see it as Tomoe turned his head to so he could hide his own tears and pained expression. Silver's grip loosened on the other foxes wrist, making sure not to squeeze it and cause Tomoe anymore pain.

Silver cursed under his breath as the sickening feeling grew, he snarled his lip and glared at the white haired fox before the red head balled up his fists, clenching tightly on Tomoe's arm. Tomoe let out a yelp as Silver squeezed harshly and he glared

"Just what do you think your doing?" He hissed lowly making Tomoe look at him. The white fox tried to breath as the pain continued to build up and he tried to look at Silver in the eye. But his shame wasn't letting him; he looked down and ran his free hand through his hair as he whimpered in pain. He was trying to think straight but the pain and the question were both driving him to a crazy almost as if they were mocking him for what he had just done. To be truthful he just wanted all the lies to leave, he wanted all this emotional pain to leave him be. So he just wanted to take it all away by doing something else, something unusual. He hated killing. He hated other people's blood, so he forced some of his out rather than going out to kill someone- anybody. That's what people wanted to happen to him anyway, to die alone so why not make it come true in some sense. He yelped again as Silver glared and tightened his grip again. Pain seared through Tomoe and tears welled up and he tried to yank his arm away; Silver on the other hand wasn't going to let go.

"You think that cutting yourself will changed anything you coward!?" Silver hissed out and glared. He had seen enough blood, murder and self harm to last a life time. The red head understood this perfectly and it didn't change a thing. It just left unwanted scars and by the looks of it, Tomoe had already cut deep enough to prove Silver's theory.

"You think this will take anything away?!" Silver raised his voice as Tomoe looked at him with his pain filled eyes, "This won't help anything you idiot! How stupid are you? Doing something like this is just asking for more trouble! What the -"

Tomoe glared at him and hissed lightly.

"You don't know anything of what I went through so stop lecturing me and treating me like I am a child! I hate Mikage! All my life has been a lie, my mother told me my father was a kitsune… and that he was a great warrior" Tomoe shook his head and whimpered, Silver on the other hand just stared at him with narrowed eyes as he listened.

"My life is a screwed up mess." Silver glared and ground his teeth, for some reason he could feel his emotions rising up as well. They were emotions that he hated to show; that he hated to show to anyone for they were nothing but a sign of weakness, something he hated with all his heart. He ground his fangs and literally decked the other fox in the cheek. Tomoe blinked as his head rang from the hit, he held his face as he looked at Silver with shocked filled eyes.

The red head glared before he began to laugh bitterly at Tomoe taking the white haired kitsune by surprise, Silver's mouth started to move and he couldn't stop it. He wanted to but it was impossible, now Tomoe had started this mess by acting up in such a manner that disgusted Silver deeply. It had been bothering him all day ever since Mikage told him the dirty truth. He balled his fists and shook his head before glaring at Tomoe with mixed emotions including anger.

"AT LEAST YOU HAVE A FATHER!" He swore as he voice cracked. " What about me?" His hands shook as Tomoe looked at him with shocked filled eyes, this definitely took him by surprise after all Silver would never talk about his problems. Silver yanked his arm and Tomoe hissed out as the other foxes skin rubbed over his bloody cuts; he grabbed at the ground with his other hand and whimpered from severe pain knowing Silver wouldn't want to let go.

"I have no family!' Silver hissed out, not wanting to stop even if he wanting to. It was the ugly truth; everyone would have found out later on. Tomoe on the other hand would have found out anyways. After all that idiot had a blabbermouth for a father after all.

"I have nothing compared to you! And yet here you are acting like a brat and saying its nothing!"

Silver swore as he felt his emotions slip from his fingers.

"People would kill for what you have and all your doing is sitting around and acting like life isn't on your side! How can you do that and think that it won't affect Mikage? Don't you know that he will freak out if he finds out that your bleeding yourself out everywhere!? YOU'RE A BLOODY IDIOT! What I see right now is a demon who is doing something so cowardly and has no shred of remorse nor does he have any idea on who this would hurt! What you're doing is disgusting"

Silver seethed as he let go of Tomoe's wrists, he turned his back in order to mask his hatred and bitterness. What had he just done? Why had he blurted all of that out, why had he told this idiot things that he would never tell anyone? Not even Mikage knows about how badly he was hurting. He snarled his lip before Tomoe looked up at him and swallowed.

"How can I be grateful for someone that abandoned my mother and then forced me to grow up when she had been murdered? How can I deal with someone that wasn't there to help me through it? Especially when my mother had been stabbed at my home when I was watching?! How can I get rid of the nightmares of when they had set her on fire!?" Tomoe hissed and bit his lip as he tried to breath but Silver couldn't stand this idiot, he would not let this coward wriggle out of this by blaming Mikage.

The man didn't seem to be the type to abandon anyone which let him slightly puzzled.

"I don't know" Silver said bitterly. "Maybe you can forgive him and act your age?!" Silver spat out and clenched his fists.

"Who knows what Mikage will do when and if he finds out about what you are doing" The red head snarled before he swallowed, the blood was really getting him. He felt dizzy from all the blood that was on his hand. It was sticky and smelt horrible, the image of Tomoe slitting his skin open made Silver gag.

The look of Tomoe's skin as Silver had noticed it yesterday- both pure and untainted. That was until his claws had forced the skin to open, the nasty vivid sound of the skin tearing open. Silver shook his head and looked at Tomoe as the white haired fox began to lick at his wounds. He moaned in pain and closed his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks.

The red head paused, maybe in a way they were both messed up. The red fox rolled his eyes as he opened a nearby closet and pulled out a roll of bandages and disinfectant. Tomoe watched him as he tore some off and used it to wipe his blood covered hand, he gagged while doing so making Tomoe blink in surprise.

The younger fox then grabbed Tomoe's arm and roughly applied the medicine in order to cleanse it. White came up as it cleaned the depths of Tomoe's skin, the white fox immediately hissed out in pain and he clenched his fists until the pain had passed.

Then Silver wrapped his arm tightly and not to gently. Tomoe tugged his arm away and swallowed, he backed up from Silver who looked like he could kill him. Silver stood up and wiped the rest of the blood on the sides of his pants; he knew he would have to change so that neither Mikage or Inari would ever see it. But he didn't know how long they wouldn't know about this dirty secret, given that Sobo could see almost everything. He wiped his hands again even though the blood had been wiped off, Silver looked at Tomoe and glared.

"Don't do that again! If you stop cutting then I won't tell your father about what you did" Silver said coldly before turning to leave, Tomoe swallowed and shook his head.

"No…" He muttered leaving Silver ticked. He turned to scream at the fox until Tomoe looked at him in the eye. The younger fox froze as the older glared. He looked at him and for some reason Silver had a sinking suspicion that Tomoe was going to say something that actually meant something for once.

"You say that I am an idiot" Tomoe looked at his wrist and bit his lip, He didn't know if he would stop doing this to himself. It was hard to think that he could or would; but he did have to say something.

"Because you are" Silver swore and continued to reach for the door before Tomoe glared and stood up but didn't move from his spot.

"You say I'm an idiot but who's the one that always runs whenever things get serious!?" He huffed out a deep breath leaving Silver to turn and glare. He opened his mouth to say something but Tomoe shook his head,

"Who the one that's screaming out that he doesn't have a family? If you say that then you are the idiot!" Tomoe huffed out a breath and sighed, not believing in what he was about to say.

"Don't you see? Mikage sees you as a son too! Mikage is your dad... but you push it away and act as if he treats you like a servant, but I see it" Silver looked at him and all the words that he was about to say had left his mouth; he turned around to hide his shock but Tomoe saw it. He sighed lightly.

"We all belong here, whether we like it or not. So am I the one that should be sucking it up?" The red head scoffed at him but stormed out of the room; slamming the door harshly and swearing to himself.

He paused and looked up and down the halls. His eyes grew wide before he blinked away whatever was welling up inside of him.

 _"Mikage sees you as a son too"_

Silver bit his lip in order to try to stop anything from welling up from within him. But he found himself trying not to smile from hearing those words. Why was it that when Mikage looked at him like that, that it took away a small piece of his pain away? Just a small piece but it did help. Did he really have a family? A real family?

That's when Silver froze and turned to see Inari staring at him. He blinked as the man looked at him; Inari froze and dropped a tea cup as his hands shook.

"Silver... Is Tomoe okay? I heard him talking to you" The red head looked at him confused and nodded,

"Yes he is, why?" He looked at the god and then something hit him...

 _Oh god. Blood was all over his hakamashita._


	4. Our Memories Haunt Us

_**4\. Our Memoires Haunt Us**_

* * *

Inari eyed the blood on Silver's hakamashita and the fox blinked in shock. In truth he did not know what to say about this. He looked back up to look at Inari while masking his emotions as his heart began to beat wildly.

His stomach slowing turning as his mind acknowledge that the blood that was touching his skin, ignoring the one thing he despised. He grimaced and swallowed while hoping that Inari would buy what he was saying

"I was adding colour to floor shine while using this natural red colour. There was a stain awhile not to long ago so I thought about masking it with this" He smiled fakely and Inari paused as he processed what was being said before nodding; The fox didn't know if he bought it or not. Giving that Inari was a God that knew medical like the back of his hand.

As they stood, Silver was beginning to feel a bit cornered and claustrophobic as the silence grew deafening. Inari nodded slowly and then looked at Silver's hands, they had the same red substance on them and in the nails so it was possible that Silver had been doing what he said. He shrugged his shoulders and eyed the fox with stern eyes; Silver during that time was trying to hold his lunch down from the fact that he was lying to a God, but what could he say? '  
Oh you know I was trying to stop Tomoe from harming himself'

No Inari would tell Mikage who would then make things worse, which was something Silver was trying very hard to avoid at the present time.  
Inari to Silver's surprise had nodded and walked on leaving the red head alone in the hall. That's when Silver had began to feel a rush of emotions overflow his mind and body to the point, that it was becoming hard to stay standing let alone breathe.

Images of the blood he had seen began flashing through his mind and entering his self consciousness. Silver covered his mouth with his hand as he started to hyperventilate, the mere thought had made his stomach turn as fear began to enter his system and started to shaking as a result. Without warning he lunged over the porch and began to cough harshly as he heaved up what was in his stomach. Sweat began to cause his hair to stick to his face as he resisted the urge to allow his emotions to take over once more as he heaves, no he would not allow that to happen again no matter what.

When he had finished Silver began to wipe his mouth with a shaky hand and started to shrug his hands in order to remove what was on it so he didn't have to look at it.  
He felt sick and his head was spinning leaving him feel light headed; images of his brother flashed through his mind. The brother he called Akura-ou, the one he killed in cold blood after losing control of his rage. The demon that was lying in a pool of his own blood, just thinking about it had taunted him whenever he either slept of even saw blood. It literally left a damaging imprint on his mind not matter how many times he had tried to remove those images, they would always come back with a vengeance. Mocking him as he saw the blood.

 _"You will always be a killer you know, Don't think I will ever leave you alone for I'll always haunt you wherever you are_ " came a sadistic voice as his mind wandered even more to his dead brother.

Silver's body continued shaking violently as a result. But he had to get himself together, it was getting out of control now and he was getting fed up with the constant terrors. Silver at this point wasn't sure if bear with this anymore; not right now not ever.  
Yes he had killed people but now he had learned his lesson and wanted to redeem himself, but at what cost?

Silver tried to think about something else; but all he saw was Tomoe's blood before another body replaced Tomoe's image and was lying there in the foul pool of blood. Silver without warning had heaved again, his body hurting from the yanking and force.

Within minutes Silver is finally been able to stop and grimaced as he looked at his clothes, he didn't have the strength to throw up again as he had lost the strength. Silver then went to his room and tried to peel off the soiled garments while trying not to go green at the same time from the sight and smell of it.

The red head shoved them far away from him while thinking of what to do with them. He could always burn them to hide the evidence right? Silver then donned on something clean and white. Something pure and untainted, something that wasn't stained or disgusting to looking at.

Silver then hastily pulled his new hakamashita shut over his bare chest and swallowed thickly; he ran a hand through his red hair and tried to think for a bit.  
What time was it? He had to know. Dinner was coming up to his dismay and he had to hurry before he was late in preparing it. Silver went to open the door and noticed that Tomoe's door was open as well. He paused now feeling confused but made his way to the living room to see everyone laughing at the table.

The red head sighed to himself knowing that no one had suspected a thing to his relief. His on the other hand body was still tense from what happened and knew that he was close to losing it, if he wasn't careful.

The red haired kitsune went to sit down with the group but shortly realized that his stomach was still not ready for a meal, due to the unsettling feeling in his stomach leaving him to grimace at what had happened before he even entered the room. It also surprised him that Inari cooked as he watched the man cook something up.  
He looked cautiously across the table at Tomoe and noticed that he was wearing different clothes as well, however this didn't surprise him given what happened before. But Silver could see that Tomoe still wore those bandages as they hid under his long, white sleeves.

Silver paused when his sleeve came to show a bit of blood that seeped through Tomoe's bandage but was dried up. Within seconds a flash of Tomoe's raw skin echoed through his mind. He shuddered for a bit before he tried to pour himself some tea, but the pot shook in his hands so he was forced with the option to put it down before anyone noticed.

" _Weak little boy_!" said an angry who's voice was laced with malice, just hearing this sudden voice had made him freeze in shock and horror.

His stomach began twisting again but in a more uncomfortable manner as the voice entered his mind. Taunting him with each sentence, almost as if they found it enjoyable to see him petrified. But why? What had he done to deserve this pain? It was like the voice was from a distant memory.

" _You stupid boy! I told you not to go out and look what happens!"_

No… this felt like a distant nightmare that haunted him more painfully, leaving raw scars to open the moment the voice.

"I-I forgot I had some things to take care of" Silver choked out as he stood rather shakily, seeing him act like this confused the group.

 _"Caring for anyone is a sign of weakness! Get that into your thick skull boy or else!_ "

The voice roared causing Silver's ears to ring at how angry the voice was, it almost deafened his ears and he could already feel tears about to form in his eyes. Silver could feel the back of his right lower arm sting, almost as if it had just been slapped cruelly.

"I should take care of them..." His voice trailed off as he winced and walked to the kitchen.

 _"Let this be a lesson to you. Now get out of my sight you worthless brat! How you could be mine is_ _beyond me_!" the voice scowled angrily, just hearing this made Silver shiver for without meaning to as he continued to walk.

Silver stared down as he gripped the sides of the sink tightly as he tried to breathe as calmly as he could, his own body shook slightly as his breathing quickened. Silver was sure that he was going to faint or something if this kept carrying on, no doubt he was going to have a panic attack or something if this kept up and he was sure that he was not going to like this one bit.

"No doubt she probably went with someone behind my back' the voice bit angrily leaving Silver to shake a bit more than usual as he took shallow breaths.  
What were these voices?! Why were they taunting him and telling him horrible things?! What was wrong with him?

What was wrong?!

" _You are worse than your mother! WEAK AND SENTIMENTAL!"_

Silver grimaced and whined slightly from the poisonous words. What did it mean to have a mother or father? Just thinking about it left him with cold chills and he didn't know why. Why would something like that bother him? Was it the amnesia or was his body trying to get him to forget?

But why?

Why the need to block such things?

He shuddered as he breathed out, completely unaware that Mikage had followed him to the kitchen. When Silver turned the God winced from seeing the state of the kitsune as the teen looked back at him. Mikage walked closer towards him and immediately pulled him close in order to hug him tightly but not too tightly, almost as if to chase the demons that haunted Silver's mind. It was to be expected… given what Silver had gone through all those years ago.

"What's wrong Silver?" Mikage asked softly as he patted Silver's head as he tried to get the fox to calm down, but Silver refused due to the words of the one faceless person who would always torment him mentally. He didn't want this man's pity!

Silver suddenly shoved Mikage away, this sudden move took them completely by surprise, Silver looked at him with his panicked eyes and swallowed.

" _Love is a sign of weakness! You'll do well to stay away from it_ " The voice said maliciously.

"Leave me be" Silver said softly, mostly directing his words at the disembodied voice than at Mikage. Still the God was shocked to hear such words.

The kitsune swallowed noticing that his throat was dry from the lack of water. Now caring about the water thanks to the conflicting emotions, he storms out the kitchen and to his room without stopping. As soon as he arrives Silver slams the door shut, ignoring if it made a noise or if he had created a scene.

Instead Silver began to sink down to the floor while his back was against the wall. Before he could think he was up again and started to pace in the room. He tried with all his might to push who ever was speaking out of his mind, while willing it to leave him alone. His body started to shake as he began to hyperventilate, almost if his body was telling him that was afraid but his mind still didn't know why this was happening. He wanted it all to end but how? So now he was freaking out as a result.

"What is wrong with me?!" Silver hissed angrily as huffed; it was not only the voices but the bad memory. As it tried to fight its way into the deep corners of his mind and make him sick to the stomach, all he could see now was Akura-ou's dead body and his own bloody katana sticking out of his chest...

It was sickening to Silver's stomach, what was worse was that the images and voices of how this happened entered his mind leaving him to grimace in regret. Silver's hands now clenched in anger and frustration as he punched the wall in front of him. But all that greeted him was pain and the smell of blood as it entered his senses.  
Silver whined and grimaced from the pain as his hands started to throb leaving him wanting to shake the pain away.

Silver then began to hyperventilate when he saw more blood leave his injured hand; his eyes grew wide as the blood played on his senses and mind, this made him sick and weak at the knees to the point that he was about to collapse.

Silver's shaking began to grow worse as he panicked from seeing his blood leave in such a manner, without wasting time he began to wipe his hand causing his sleeve gain pink marks while trying to get the bleeding to stop. Sadly this was a futile effort as his body shook.

Silver collapsed on the floor while he hyperventilated and stared at the injury while rubbing at it weakly. Silver began to whine as screams entered his mind forcing him to grip the sides of his head in order to drown out the noise.

.  
"Why wouldn't it go away?

* * *

" _You will always be a killer you know, it won't change no matter how you much you try to ignore it"_

"No…" Silver mumbled out softly his air heaving, leaving an echo every time he exhaled.

 _"You always be a killer_ …" the voice continued to taunt him with a chuckle.

"NO!" Silver screamed out into the dark void that suddenly surrounded his line of vision; his heart was racing and his limbs were shaking violently as he laid on the ground. No, This isn't him. Not anymore! He did not want to hurt anyone anymore.

Kami-sama…

Silver began coughing harshly from swallowing, his muscles tensed as he covered his ears in order to drown out the voices. Whines left his mouth as they continued to plague his mind.

Silver struggled to stay still as he rocked back and forth, the kitsune's hands shaking as one was under his head while the other almost rested on his stomach and chest as it clutched his clothes. Silver pulled his knees to his chest as the voices ranged on without any means of stopping.

That one person who he could not identify due to the distorted image despite the voice being clear enough to hear. The one that said all those cruel words just to spite him, images of Akura-ou as he took his last breath.

It almost eluded him as to why there was so much the darkness in his room, as his head spun. Making him feel dizzy and sick. He closed his eyes and screamed mentally; the voices grew louder and louder causing tears to well up from the hopelessness of this situation, they nearly pooled down his face in an alarming rate as he hyperventilated. His hands shook and his heart started to pound dangerously fast as it took a turn for the worst.

"Stop! STOP IT!" He said in a hollow whisper, almost as if he was pleading. Silver shook his head back and forth as he laid, wanting to remove those foul words from his mind. This was scaring him, leaving him feeling like there was noose on his neck that was continued to choke and squeeze leaving him gasping for air. The thought of it made him panic and tried to reach for his throat only to find nothing touching it leaving him agitated, he wanted this to release him. He couldn't take it anymore!  
Tears finally poured out, wetting his cheeks as they ran down his face.

"STOP IT!" He raised his voice even more, not caring if this left his voice raw from the having to strain it. Whimpers and whines escaped his mouth as the noise began to deafen his ears.

The blood on his hand dripped and tickled his arm as it ran, making him feel sick to his stomach.

He started to open his mouth again in order to scream, but without warning the door opened; almost startling Silver as one of his eyes went to the light as it created a shadow. Light entered via the door and Silver looked over his shoulder slightly. Tears stained his face as he shook; and for some reason something warm wrapped itself around him. He gasped at the foreign touch; but his body welcomed it.

He didn't know why but he cringed from the thought of being touched. Afraid of being hit, which was confusing since he didn't remember being hit in such a violent manner.

Silver flinched as he anticipated the hit but instead of a harsh slap; a soft hand patted his head and then stroked his head by his cheek. Silver's breathing was laboured as he opened his eyes, he looked up as his ears flopped and blinked. Tears trailed out of his eyes as he saw...

Mikage looking at him with a soft smile. It made no sense as to why this man was doing that but seeing the warm smile allowed him to feel some relief, compared to his cold world of darkness and despair.

Compared to his scary life.

Mikage sat there as Silver's hands shook; meanwhile the man held him and tried to soothe the unsettled kitsune down. The God let his hand glow as he patted the fox's head. A calming effect only helped a bit as it seeped into him... his hands shook as Mikage held him.

What Silver didn't know was that Mikage was also panicking; it was hard for him to see his other son like this.

Tomoe had just dealt with nightmares of a dead woman with gorged out eyes, and now Silver was screaming to himself in his own room.

He didn't know what to do; this wasn't something he could purify. He wanted to take away the powers of hell that had the ability to torment the minds of others, but he couldn't do it.

This was emotional pain that was rooted from a raw wound, that had seeped itself in the depths of their memories. He rocked back and forth as Silver's breaths began to slow down. Soon he was breathing normally while his eyes were open. He seemed to be quite now and he wasn't shaking anymore. But he didn't pull from the hug due to the lack of energy.

The God patted his head and he wondered if Silver ever had been hugged by a father before; had he have experienced it at least once in his life? Who had this calming effect on him? Making sure he was okay whenever he had night terrors?

Mikage winced before sighing, what was he going to do? What could he do to help both of his sons?

* * *

Silver walked down the hall in a silent manner, his eyes void of emotion while his body moved in a lifeless manner.

Last night was terrible, and sleep had refused to aid him during that time. So now here he was walking around in a zombified manner. To Silver's surprise, Tomoe had gotten up earlier than him which in itself was new to Silver.

Tomoe hardly got up early and Silver was beginning to wonder on what Tomoe was playing at.

He groaned and looked down at his fist, it turned out that Mikage had bandaged Silver's hand when he was out cold. It still hurt to even bend his fingers and the red head winced the moment he tried.

Last night was terrifying; and he wasn't sure who or what was talking to him in the depths of his mind. Not knowing was freaking him out from just thinking about it. No matter how much he tried to repress them, they wouldn't leave him alone. But Silver had refused to allow their words to consume him and send him down a dark path that would end badly; he had come so far to quit and he wouldn't start. Not now... not ever.

The kitsune continued to walk down the hallway and paused when he turned to look outside. It was raining a bit today, although it was to be expected since it was the rainy season on that side of Japan. His eyes fixed on the grey skies; just seeing them had made his mood dampen even more.

Silver sighed heavily as he watched the view. Mikage had said to him earlier on that Tomoe was out there cleaning the stone walk. Apparently he was trying to do something useful for once, but just thinking about it made Silver frown.

"About time" Silver muttered softly as he looked down at his uninjured hand, he brought it up before his eyes softened at how unblemished it was. If only his other hand hadn't been damaged, then again, this wasn't the first time he had lost control, however it had been the first time that he had been caught out. Or so he thought.

Mikage at that time had wanted Silver to give him his lunch. Silver had ground his teeth from the fact that he had to deliver food, but he could not complain since he was too tired.

Silver continued to try and stay awake as he fixed the tea over a fire. The shrine had been caught on fire before... not that Silver would ever want to talk about it.  
The fox huffed out a breath as he walked and looked around; but what caught his eye made him freeze in his place. There was a water bucket on the walk but no Tomoe; the red head ground his teeth as he walked towards the Torii Gate. But when he got there his eyes widened from what he saw.

Tomoe was standing there; looking mortified and was starting staring at the steps beneath him. Silver quickly walked over and blinked when he saw a female with a cloak over her head. His eyes grew wide as she not only waved but smiled as she ran off. Silver looked at Tomoe who was just as shocked as he was.

"Who was that? Silver hissed as he frowned at Tomoe, Tomoe on the other hand shrugged his shoulders; but he seemed lost at thought. As if the girl they had seen had taken over his very thoughts, seeing this made Silver swear in anger.

"Don't EVER! Bring your old girlfriends to the shrine. It's disgraceful!" He roared out in irritation. He looked at Tomoe and began to fume; he had been ticked off since this morning and Tomoe wasn't helping him one bit. Tomoe looked at him blankly before swallowing and nodding, while feeling confused as his mind was trying to process what had just happened.

"I do not know her." He whispered out and then looked at Silver's hand. A sandwich was in it and Silver arched his brow when Tomoe looked away and swallowed.  
I'm going to go finish my chores" He whispers and turned to walk away before Silver rolled his eyes and slapped Tomoe's shoulder with the bread.

"Eat, your stomach is irritating enough to hear over here" Silver said in a nonchalant tone as he saw Tomoe stare at the bread.  
His eyes slitted from hunger as he swallowed and accepted the food. The red head scoffed at him as Tomoe ate hungrily without caring about his manners.

It was as if Tomoe hadn't eaten in forever, given how quickly he was eating his food. During that time Silver had wondered if it was because of all the blood he had lost, thanks to his earlier stunt. Tomoe growled and then paused for a bit as he noticed Silver staring at him oddly, his eyes widened as he swallowed what was in his mouth. Silver rolled his eyes as he turned to leave only to stop when Tomoe looked at him.

"Thanks..." He muttered quietly.

If only Silver knew that Tomoe never really got a descent meal for some time; he never had a full meal before.

It was always something he was forced to eat; but a human never touched his lips or stomach. That itself was completely vile and made his stomach twist from the thought, Silver didn't know that he starved himself most of the time as part of his training to be something that he wasn't. Maybe that was why it tasted so nice; even if was just an ordinary sandwich.

Tomoe winced and looked down while feeling like an idiot. Silver was a great familiar and here he was, just a novice. It ticked him off to some degree. He wanted to be more but that wasn't happening anytime soon. He wanted to be better than Silver at what he did, but he couldn't do it.

Plus he couldn't bring himself to look at Mikage. The man who had lied to him about his father, who would deny him that right to even know about his parentage. It sickened him to think that someone would do such a horrible thing.

Silver walked back into the shrine as Tomoe started to scrub the walk again; he winced and wiped his mouth as he looked out over the rolling hills. The blood red sun was setting in the distance, making the sky beautiful and yet… horrible.

" _Would you like to train now? The sun is red and You will be also-"_

Tomoe froze, his muscles tensing before he swallowed and pushed the thoughts away. Oh Kami-sama, Tomoe at that moment wanted nothing more than to forget that voice. But how could he when he couldn't even lay down without hurting himself?

 _"Lets beat your weakness out, eh?"_

Tomoe stood quickly and threw his rag down as he tried to compose himself. He breathed out and ran his hands through his hair, pushing the memories back. He needed to walk around the shrine for a bit and then, maybe he would be okay.

* * *

Tomoe winced as Mikage followed him down the hallway, asking him questions while begging for answers at the same time. This was annoying Tomoe to a great degree but said nothing as he let his hair shield his eyes. Mikage seemed to pout from the response.

"Why were you walking about like that?" Mikage asks as he looks at the fox, Tomoe only hesitated for a moment before growling. He wanted this man to stop digging in his business! What had he done? Ha! He had the answer for that, but he didn't want to say it.

The fox swallowed and as soon as he got to his room, he opened the door before slamming it harshly in Mikage's face. His trembling hand hit the lock, clicking it shut.

It was night time and dinner was being served served; he could hear Silver ranting about how he wasn't at the table helping, but Tomoe didn't feel hungry. In fact he felt sick and alone. Plus he was tired.

Earlier on a girl had showed up. She didn't show her eyes and she hid her true voice from him. The girl had beautiful plump lips as she spoke to him; and she carelessly kissed his bandaged wrists without caring about the consequences. Begging him to stop what he was doing to his surprise.

Who she was he had no clue; but it made Tomoe wonder why she had cared so much. He was a demon, and ex-murderer with a long track record on the kidnapping of woman. He raped them and left them for dead, or he had finished them off, killing them completely.  
Tomoe ran a hand through his white silky like hair; he was tired and his cuts were taking a toll on him. He was still a bit hungry but not to the point of starving, so he laid down and whimpered from the warmth of his covers.

He liked this feeling, the soft blankets. He never got to feel the texture of the blankets when he was a murderer. He had never even got to stay in one place; Tomoe never did a place to call home because he was always being tracked down.

Last week he had went to town and gotten attacked by a bunch of humans. When he came home beat up Silver had scoffed and asked him what he had done. Then he began to rant about Tomoe picking fights; they both went at each other's throats for this comment. Tomoe wasn't picking fights; he was just trying to get by in life, because he was sure that he didn't deserve to enjoy it. Not after everything he was made to do and forced to do. Not after everything he had done on his own, because of his own guilty pleasureful needs and hormone driven wants.

The fox shuddered and closed his eyes while trying to fall asleep, but when his self conscience let him go to that place. He immediately grew terrified of what it involved, because this was a memory that he had kept shut for a long time and now… it was back to haunt him.

* * *

 _ **Dream**_

* * *

He looked up at the sunset and paused, it was red-great... The teen had sighed and tugged at his growing white hair; he was tired from walking all day with his big brother. To think he had found this, ' Brother' in a village nearby.

All he had to do was go with him, for a kitsune who had just lost his mother? This was tempting all in itself, so he decided, on his better judgement to go with this brother.

Now he had learned that just because someone smiled didn't mean they offered the best for you; in fact some of them were the devil in disguise. Now he was older and a teenager; still undergoing his brother's training.

Today he knew he would have to 'train'. He had lost a girl named Yukiji that he was supposed to find. Someone he was supposed to capture for his brother's favourite of pleasures. Tomoe looked up, whenever the sun was red as it went down. Or whenever big brother felt like it, Tomoe had to train to be a good demon.

"Are you crying? SUCK IT UP FOOL! You're still weak after all of these years! A disgrace to all yōkai! You couldn't even get the girl...Go to that room." He hissed out leaving Tomoe to shake in his spot.

He stared at the ground, breathing heavily. He didn't want to... this wasn't training. You couldn't train without a katana, this was just a test to see his pain endurance; And to see how much he screamed this time.

"I said to go!" His brother grounded his teeth in anger.

"I am not under yo-" Before Tomoe could mouth out in order to voice his own opinion; his brother had yanked his hair and shoved him into the room. The dark room were only people screamed for mercy; his claws dug into the door as his body shook.

No... NO! Not now, not ever! Please God no!

Tomoe winced and for some reason all he felt was pain- severe pain. As it went through his back but he clamped his mouth shut as the pain grew. He ground his teeth until whatever it was, grabbed his ankle and yanked him down. He panted in pain as the blood red sun glowed in, shading his features as the pain kept coming.

"You defy him too much!" A figure hissed out in venom. Crap, he hated snakes. Another one hummed in response.

"You're a rebellious teen, defying the master! We shall do as the master tells us to do. We make you scream..." An evil glint shot across the figures face and all Tomoe remembered was the bone shaking pain and the screams as he trying to guard himself.

The next thing Tomoe knew was that he now lying in his own blood, he whimpered and gasped weakly as he tried to think straight. The cuts were so deep that he wondered if there was damage; but he knew there was. The damage he didn't want to see.

The fox choked and blood puddled out as hot tears streamed down his face. But he knew it wasn't over... not for a while. Tomoe's eyes had caught his brother's boots as he walked in and Tomoe tried to struggle from pain.

His clothes were torn from the whips and claws of other yōkai, he could still feel the pain they had just inflicted. It wasn't numbing one bit; it was something that made him scream every time he moved.

Well Brother, are you ready for your next step?" Tomoe winced as blood trickled down his lip; he choked as tears began to blur his vision. The sound of his own katana being sharpened entered his ears and he hissed as a choked sob escaped his lips.

His brother smirked and lifted Tomoe's chin, not minding the blood one bit. All he wanted to see was the tortured and terrified eyes of his little brother. He smirked as the fox yelped in pain; the movement hurt Tomoe making the demon smile in a cynical manner.

"So... Are you ready?" Tomoe closed his eyes; he was just a young teenager.

He wasn't ready! He didn't want to feel it! He didn't want to, God he was scared. So what he didn't do it right? No one was perfect, so why was this happening to him? The katana was sharpening in the background and Tomoe choked.

"N-No..." He choked, tears pooling over his face and the man clucked his tongue.

"Poor brother..." He smirked while his voice oozed with mock concern and then looked at the figures.

"Get it ready" He dropped Tomoe's chin and the next thing Tomoe knew was that a foot was now on his back, pushing him down into the cold concrete floor.

"So... Where do I cut?" His brother hummed making Tomoe shake. Tomoe saw the glint of the blade in a mirror and his eyes grew wide.

.

"N-NO! STOP! PLEASE!"

* * *

 _ **End of Dream**_

* * *

Tomoe bolted up, his eyes wide as he shook and covered his mouth in order to muffle his voice. He noticed that the shrine was quiet and he guessed that he had fallen asleep in the darkness of the night. It made sense but…

Pain shot through Tomoe's back and he hissed as he clawed at the blankets, he whimpered. His short hair fanning out around him as he sat up.

"Stop haunting me…" Tomoe whimpered out as he stared at the roof.

"Stop cutting me there..." He choked out as he wiped at his eyes using the back of his hand. All the while he tried to sleep again but the old scars his back carried wouldn't let him.

* * *

Silver turned in his bed as the sun shone in on his eyes torturing him slightly as it ebbed at him to wake up. He didn't want too...

He was still drained from the other day and the thought of this nice warm bed was all he needed. The red head opened his eyes as he breathed out and swallowed; his head hurt a bit but he didn't mind because right now he was okay… maybe.

He had to shake off the thoughts that had not only disturbed but had also scared him; it was annoying and terrifying to think about it whenever it decided to torment him, so he decided to get up anyway and face the day.

Even though it probably didn't want to face his cranky attitude. The fox got up and stretched as he got dressed and hurried to do his duties before Mikage got up; but when he opened the kitchen door he blinked. There was Tomoe stirred the tea and seeping it; a sweet aroma filled the air and red head blinked.

What was with this idiot lately? Why was he doing all of this? Silver could have sworn that he still hated Mikage after what had happened. So why was he cooking for the man? The red head paused and looked over at Tomoe. He noticed bags under his eyes and from time to time, Tomoe would yawn and cringe slightly from the light in the room.

Silver knew what that meant; someone didn't sleep well the night before.

"Rough night?" Silver's question snapped Tomoe out of his daze causing him to look back and see Silver; it was then that the white haired kitsune had noticed the black circles under Silver's eyes.

"…What about you?" Silver shrugged in reply and went to get the food ready.

"Nothing new" Silver muttered as he chopped some fruit and placed them into a bowl after washing them. Once that was done, Silver had begun to get a pan an started to crack open some eggs in order to make the white parts of the eggs visible.

Tomoe watched silently as he observed how Silver worked.

"You know staring is rude, if you want to help then just say so" Silver replied bluntly causing Tomoe's ears to pin themselves to his skull, talk about embarrassing.

"I was just seeing what you were making" He whispered slighly. Maybe it was that fact he didn't know HOW to do this. He wasn't much on cooking; he was forced not to eat anything before he came to the shine so lots of foods were foriegn to him.

"An eggs and toast, Mikage was asking about it yesterday" Silver replied bluntly as he took the eggs out and placed them onto the plates he had prepared.

Tomoe noded as he observed how it was done, seeing something like this interested him for some reason. Then again he should be able to know how to cook, sadly though given the limited resources and items. It did prove to be a challenge.

Images of last night left Tomoe cringing and whined slightly as he gripped his arms, almost as if he was imagining their attacks as they marred his body. Silver looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"You should see someone about your nightmares" Silver commented. Once the pan was empty he placed it in the sink and gestured for Tomoe to clean them, who in fact did it without complaint. Seeing this surprised Silver quite a bit.

"It's not that-"

"Look I'm going to be out of the shrine for a few days" This stopped Tomoe from cleaning and looked at Silver with bewildered eyes.

"W-What? Why?"

Silver blinked while Tomoe's face went red from asking and turned his head to mask his embarrassment.

"I will be visiting a close personal friend of Mikage for a few days. This means that you need to run the duties until I come back" Silver said as he bit into an apple slice. Tomoe remained silent as Silver explained.

.

.  
In fact he was in shock from the sudden turn of events.

Tomoe didn't know what to do right now. He was never left alone in the shrine, not without Silver. Even the shrine spirits gave him a tough time from time to time and he had no clue as to how to cook. His cleaning wasn't the best and it freaked him out a bit,

" I see.. " Tomoe muttered and trired to finish cleaning the pan. Silver picked up the food plate and started to leave the kitchen as Tomoe battled with his thoughts;

Oh Kami..

This wasn't going to end well. Plus he was dealing with everything else in that matter. The fox swallowed and cursed to himself.. His hands shook at the thought, What was he gonna do?

 _Oh god no.._


	5. Shrine Duties Suck, And Silver-QUITS?

_**5\. Shrine Duties Suck, & Silver QUITS!?**_

* * *

Silver sighed heavily as he got his things ready for the trip; He had decided that he was going to go to Mikage's friends in order to stay and relax. His mind was so crowded with things that had begun to plague him during the last few days; Silver was slowly beginning to think that he was losing it. Plus now that Tomoe was there things had gotten a lot harder as well.

Silver already had it rough when it came to Mikage and Inari; he didn't want to deal with Tomoe's mess either, just thinking about it stressed Silver to the point that he was sure that he was going to get grew hairs by the end of the year. Sadly the idiot acted like he didn't know how to do anything. It bugged him to new levels and just thinking about it ticked him off even more.

The red head needed a break, a nice break with no interruptions. That's what he needed and that's what he was going for. He hoped that when he went things would settle down and he wouldn't have anymore panic attacks.

The fox looked up out at the sun and winced, it was about mid-day and he told Mikage's friend that he would be there by now. He picked up his things and fixed his Haori before walking out of the room and prepared to leave.

That's when he was practically tackled by Mikage. The God was cooing and wishing him a safe journey and also wished him good luck; this only made Silver groan and try to ply the God away. He also saw Tomoe who was walking away...

The coward.

He ground his teeth and tried to calm himself down. He could do this; just a bit longer he thought while trying to regain his breathing. He was leaving to get a break and calm down; ever since Tomoe came to the shrine things had gotten ten times worse and he needed a break from it all.

From Mikage and his constant rants, to Inari and his perverted comments. Then there was Tomoe who kept saying that couldn't do ANYTHING which ticked Silver off a whole lot more than it should have.

Silver pushed Mikage off of him and sighed from having to deal with this man. Why couldn't he bother Tomoe or something? That fool was slacking off as usual!

"I'll be back old man, its not like I'm traveling cross country" The fox said coldly, he glared at Mikage who started to sniff while waving a white handkerchief up and down. He was pouting as if he was waving a long lost family member to their death bed... blooming baka!

Silver right now was so happy that he was getting away from him now. He almost didn't care if his visit was for naught, he refused to be in the same area as this fool!

The red head rolled his eyes and yanked the door open before hearing Mikage whimper and crying as he said

"They grow so fast"

Silver felt his face burn from embarrassment as he yanked the door open and cursed from how humiliated he was. Thank god he was getting out of there. He needed to breathe, to think... and to get some sleep.

He had been having nightmares and confusing panic attacks which had been coming and going lately and it was driving him up the wall.

He needed this time to be... slightly alone.

Silver walked towards the pond by the garden area and sighed. This never did get any easier but knew that it was the only way to visit. After taking a deep breath he drops face forwards and slammed into the pond. Within seconds he vanished from sight as the water drags him into it's watery depths.

Tomoe watched Silver leave that day, when he got up he was shocked to see Silver going down the hallway with Mikage whining and asking him why he had to go. The red head said he needed out of the shrine.

The white haired fox didn't really think that Silver was serious about leaving for a few days; now that he saw that Silver was about to leave did Tomoe start to panic a bit. He didn't know what he was doing! He had never really done anything, but Silver had said something to him before he left; and it sounded more like a warning then a friendly goodbye.

 ** _"Do your job until I get back; don't RUIN anything!"_**

Tomoe winced as the door closed; he was able to be quite for that time but now he was on the verge of falling on his knees. What was he going to do? He didn't know how to do any of things; it wasn't long ago that he was out drinking and killing people, now he had to clean and cook. Two things he never really did before.

The fox moaned and looked around the shrine; the day was practically over to the fox's dismay. On the bright side Silver did leave dinner for that night, but Tomoe knew he had to take care of things in the morning and a few days after that.

He had to keep the shrine clean and something about a damp cloth had been mentioned which had to be used because of evil spirits. Tomoe almost laughed out loud as he walked down the hallway, it was funny. Not to long ago he was considered an evil spirit. Now he was a God's son and he hated it.

Silver had the habit of calling him a delinquent; Tomoe even despised this name. Yes he wasn't as experienced as the red head but he was trying. Apparently though it didn't seem like it was much help though. He hated being here and not doing anything.

When he was injured Mikage made him rest the whole time; Silver didn't seem to like that, and now that he was better he could have been helping with everything but he didn't know how. He knew he could ask Silver; but why would he ask someone younger then him?! It was embarrassing on so many levels.

Even when Tomoe asked why Silver was going, he had got humiliated in some way; he was completely embarrassed to even show that he was worried about another person. He was also worried that he would fail and he would have to see Mikage look at him and compare him once again.

It was as if Silver could do anything in the shrine, but he wanted to help; he just couldn't do the things that Silver did. He didn't have the experience. He had tried but he failed and hid what he did. He didn't want Mikage to look at it.

All Tomoe had wanted to do was to just fit in, sadly that wasn't going well as much as he had hoped.

Tomoe winced as he looked around the shrine.

"Crap..." He moaned.

"It all starts tomorrow, Doesn't it?"

* * *

Tomoe moaned when the sunlight hit his eyes; it hurt as he tossed and covered his head with a pillow. He was too tired to move, last night was the full moon and Mikage had drunk sake with him. Sadly Silver wasn't there to regulate how much they got and Tomoe got wasted. Now his head hurt and all he wanted was some good earned sleep; but he wasn't expecting Inari to come in and dump water on his head.

Tomoe jerked up and gasped out in panic, the water brought back the horrible memories of almost drowning; very soon the fox became ticked off from the stunt. He glared at the smirking god.

"If you want to sleep in? Go to bed early. We're waiting for our tea kido!" He patted Tomoe's soaking wet hair making the teen jerk his head up and glare.

He bared his teeth at the wheat god; this man knew how to talk to him. But he also knew how to tick him off. The fox threw his wet covers off and stood up slowly, water dripping off him and continued to soak into his night yukata.

He grimaced from the feeling and slammed his bedroom door shut; but he didn't get how the god got in. He locked it, he was sure... well at least he thought he did; he was drunk at the time so it was hard to remember.

The teen huffed out an annoyed breath as he started to get changed, His shirt was midway when Mikage opened the door, Tomoe screeched and hid behind the changing screen. The blond god blinked but then jiggled the handle on the door.

"Tomoe, add this door to your chore list. The lock is broken: He sighed and closed it, this left Tomoe to move from behind the screen and began swearing and tearing at the tatami mats on the floor. That's when he paused,

How did you fix a door handle?

The fox shuddered as he worked at his clothes, when he had finished he came out and went to the kitchen in confusion. Tea? How hard could tea be? Silver did it all the time. Tomoe reached for the fire pit and lit it. That seemed right. He went out to the stream and got some water before coming back and pouring it in the kettle, good.

Now that just had to boil right? Yeah...

He stood up and got cups out from their resting place; he grabed the ones with sakura out. He had bought them after a really bad argument at the shrine. When he had bought the cups, Silver during that time had been forced to clean up his mess.

The white haired fox grimaced from the memory, he got screamed at for that as well. Tomoe huffed out a breath when he heard a strange sizzling sound, He turned around and cursed , the water was boiling over!

He cursed and yanked it out of the heat, burning himself in the process. He hissed out in pain and sucked on his finger as he looked down at the water pot, he grabbed a nearby towel and picked it up. After getting the rest of the hot water and putting it into the cups. That's when he paused as a thought came to him.

"Was I supposed to put the tea seeper in first?" he blinked and looked down at the cup and shrugged his shoulders. Then he put the herbs in, without netting he then stirred it and looked at it. It was brown, that meant it was tea right?

There was some herbs floating around but he spooned most of them out. Tomoe nodded and carried it into the living room; he sat the cups down and bit his lip when Mikage took a sip. The God froze and nearly choked; but when he saw Tomoe looking rather closely the man winced for a bit. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Tomoe's feelings.

"Oh, What... an interesting cup of tea." He choked out with tears welling up in his eyes. The fox's ears flopped over and he just knew that the man was lying. He had a feeling that herds weren't supposed to be IN it. He chewed his lip and when Inari took a sip he did a spit take. He pushed the cup FAR away and then looked at Tomoe.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Mikage kicked him under the table as Tomoe backed away a bit.

Oh Crap was it really that bad?

The fox swallowed and looked away with a look on his face that said: 'I tried, now drink it before I shove it down your throat' Inari glared back.

"You really are a delinquent...' He huffed. This made Tomoe look at him. He glared before yanking the cup back and stomped into the kitchen. He didn't understand! He poured it out and winced,

"How do you make it?" He whispered slightly before shaking his head and trying to think. He could at least try to clean off the table, after all Inari did spit all over it with his germs. The Gods had already gotten up so Tomoe grabbed the nearest rag and started to wash the table off.

Until red rubbed off onto the wood surface, Tomoe nearly freaked out.

This was a cherry wood table and now it had a red streak on it. His eyes grew wide as he looked at the rag and saw Floor polish, his ears sunk down and he groaned as he let his head fall against the table.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Inari stared at the burnt piece of chicken and then at Tomoe's burnt hands, the teen was wincing even though he wrapped his hands perfectly. This kid needed training, and he needed it BAD!

He would give it but it could be better if someone around his age helped, like maybe when Silver got back. But everyone in the shrine knew that wouldn't happen unless Tomoe was desperate, but then again he was twitching and looking really ticked.

He wouldn't even eat it and he cooked it. Mikage being the sport he was, picked it up and took one loud crunchy bite. This made the teen whine to himself as he picked up the plate and stormed back to the kitchen, he threw it away and stared up at the roof.

Why was it that he couldn't do it? He hated seeing Mikage's weary look from having to deal with his mistakes for that day. To be honest he never had done anything like this before, the only thing he did was-no. He couldn't think about it.

" _Lets go train Brother"_

Tomoe hissed as the thought passed through his mind, he got the plate and chucked it across the room in hatred.

"SHUT UP!" He screeched and paused from the thought. What was he doing? The plate crashed and broke making Tomoe shake, Oops...

"What was that?" He heard Mikage call and he panicked from the mess.

"Um... dropped something, I got it!" He winced as he stared at the glass shards. He really needed to get this under control.

He dropped to his knees and started to pick out the larger shards, When he got that done he grabbed a rag and started to clean up the rest of the glass, He scrubbed the wood to get the shards out of it. His hand ranked over the wood and he stared down blankly, this was all he really could do. Clean a floor; He huffed out as he stared down at the spot. He had stopped getting the glass up but now he was staring at the splintered wood on the floor. He ruined that part of the floor to his dismay.

 _"Do you know why No one took you in Brother?"_ asked a cynical voice.

"Why?" A small voice whispered out while the voice was shaking due to the pain.

"Because you're you." Tomoe cursed and threw the rag up against the wall before leaning his head against the wall and breathing out slowly.

He wasn't good at this, he was trying but he already knew that it would be impossible to survive without his younger counterpart. Tomoe hissed, what was he doing here? He didn't know how he got to the shrine, how did he get into this predicament? Why was he here? Every time he tried to remember.

It had felt like someone had slapped him.

The teen looked at the floor and traced a damaged spot with his finger. Why couldn't he do it... like...

 _S-Silver?_

The white haired teen choked on his own thoughts as he stood, he had to get a bath. His body was aching, and he had strained a few things today just by lifting some heavy objects. Tomoe knew it was a stupid thing to do but he didn't care; he was trying and was trying very hard as to not ruin the shrine with his childish antics.

Tomoe stood and paused as he felt something fall down his face, he blinked but sweeped it away. Ha! He never got emotional. Why? Because being emotional was weakness,and it brought the pain that came with his 'Training'

He swallowed and walked out of the kitchen. He needed to think straight, but how could he? He felt sick from everything today; he didn't have food in his system because he couldn't cook.

Nor didn't know how to make tea and He was getting dehydrated.

This sucked, If Silver saw him now, he'd probably have scoffed and told him to leave. It made sense, at the time Tomoe had wanted nothing more than to leave and get away from the shrine, but he also liked it here.

He didn't want to admit it though. Because every time he admitted that he liked something. It had disappeared from his grasp. His life was so painful that he even had to be careful when he got dressed, Why?

Oh the reason, was a painful reason, a horrifyingly painful reason had been ebbed onto his back, scars rested on to his upper legs and upper arms, including round his neck, shoulders.

Some of his hair covered a small mark on his upper neck. That little mark that made him choke for air just from thinking about it.

That mark had almost pierced his air way and he almost choked in his blood for it.

Tomoe shook his head and heated some water until he grabbed some clean clothes and made his way to the bathroom; when he got there he slid the door shut and started to loosen his clothes.

He looked across from him at a mirror and swallowed, to be truthful if he saw his body he'd get sick, why? Because of his scars, there were so many scars that weren't going to go away any time soon. They had never been treated and Tomoe could have sworn they were infected. But he didn't care.

Tomoe took a towel and hung it on the mirror before lowering the Hakama from his back and shoulders, He hissed as the cloth rubbed but he said nothing as he took off his white clothes, revealing a badly beat and damaged back

The fox hissed out, his teeth clenching as he got into the water and soaked down until the water came to his chin. He stared ahead slightly and blinked as the water reflected the lights in the room.. Tomoe breathed out as the hot water worked on his back, making him hiss and whimper out in pain...

" Ow.." He cursed as tears formed in his eyes. The pain was to great for him, it made him hiss and hold his breath to stop from screaming. He didn't like this! He wanted this to stop and to leave him alone! It hurt but he couldn't get rid of the pains of the past. Even though he wanted to.

He was just a ...

A delinquent.

Tomoe buried his face and breathed out slightly before cleaning up and grabbing a towel. He got dressed and paused when he let the water out... He stared down as the water drained and the fox blinked as he noticed the water was slightly tinted pink.

This made his hiss out and peel his top half od his hakama off and stare at a few open cuts, He bit his lip and whimpered out as he took the white towel and started to dab at it, blood smeared off and Tomoe cursed slightly.

He waited until the bleeding stopped and when it had he hid the towel in a bin under a few other dirty items, No one was going to find that. They couldn't, if they did he wouldn't be able to explain it to them.

The teen breathed and pulled his Hakama back on, he sat down in the floor and breathed out in panic as his white hair stuck to his face from being wet. The fox didn't know what to do... His tea was awful, he couldn't clean a table and he defiantly couldn't cook.

He ground his teeth and leaned his head back.

"I can't do it" He whispered and winced.

 _"You fool! Do something already! Or are you incapable of doing anything!?"_ The voice snapped now sounding agitated.

Tomoe blinked from the voice.. That was a new one. He glared at and swallowed, "I am capable you idiot" He choked slightly and blinked from his own words. What was wrong with him? When he first came to the shrine he didn't care, he didn't want to care; but now it was a definite something for him.

Why did he care if people accepted him? Why did he care if he was a familiar, He was just a murder-' Tomoe paused his thoughts and choked.

" _Stop slacking off!"_

"S-Shut up" Tomoe whimpered and pulled his knees to his chest, " Its not my fault your like how you are! Its not my fault that you know how and I don't! I can't lift heavy things because of my back, I can't cook and I do clean right you annoying Baka!" Tomoe stopped his words, realizing the person wasn't even there.

He whined and let his head hit the wall behind him, why could he NOT do all these things? He felt stupid and sometimes he just wanted to leave the shrine! Why didn't he exactly?

Tomoe blinked, why was he here at this shrine? What was tying him to a place like this? He couldn't do anything, and no one seemed to like the fact he was around. Even the gods hated him. The fox paused and then bit his lip before standing up and sliding the door to the bathroom open. He looked around and walked to his room before grabbing a hakama and pausing as his hands trembled...

 _"Stop"_

Tomoe cursed, "Shut up! Stinkin Contract" He ground out in pain as the sharp feeling in his chest and wrist started to make him gasp out in pain. The contract was hurting him.. He choked out slightly before throwing in a pair of shoes and his fan. Then he swiftly opened the window and slipped out, his feet hitting the stone walk with silence.

The fox looked at the shrine and paused, it wasn't like it was exactly a bad thing he was leaving. It was just like when he was alone, he would drop by at one place and then take off again. This only made Tomoe cringe and turn around.

He slipped down the steps, taking the tree line. When he got to the ground he made sure he made it to the now silent village. He could make it on his own.. Just like before. He had always been alone, and in ways he had been hardened to the fact of leaving.

But maybe he was just calming down the imagination in his head; Silver didn't see any good in him. Mikage lied to him and Inari was rude. That wasn't something Tomoe wanted...right? The young teen swallowed and walked into the village.

He looked around and blinked as he searched the streets for anyone. He didn't see anyone which was good, he breathed out. Why was it that all the other times of killing people and now was the only time he felt like a criminal?

Tomoe walked through the quite streets, his agility bringing him through the streets quietly without waking anyone up; But... He paused as his stomach twisted. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he want to leave the shrine? What was drawing him there? He was supposed to hate them all!

But he didn't.

And he hated himself for it.

"There you are!"

Tomoe froze and turned around to see Inari panting and shaking his head, " What do you think your doing?" The god huffed and looked at Tomoe.. The fox swallowed and for some reason he couldn't say anything. They came looking for him.. W-Why? What did he do?

" Get your butt back at the shrine squirt." Inari sighed out as Tomoe shook his head, his white hair bobbing.

" I'm only in the way!" He whimpered out and Inari sighed as he chuckled lightly and patted the teens head. Tomoe took this in shock as Inari gave him a fatherly smile.

" Who told you that? Let me guess.. Yourself right?" He smiled and looked at the fox. Tomoe's ear pinned before Inari waved a hand about, " Your father is panicked and Silver is gonna be peeved if he found out you ran away instead of working." Inari chided with a smirk.

Tomoe blinked and looked at the man in confusion, " W-What.."

" Come home kido. Your father is getting ready to call the gods counsel and believe me.. I don't want him doing something stupid like that.' The man chuckled as Tomoe's ears flopped and he looked down.

His contract was burning and his stomach felt horrible as the man smiled. The teen paused and then.. for some reason he nodded. It was without hesitation, and for some reason tears slipped out of his eyes making him rub them away. he tried to stop but Inari laughed and patted his head..

Then Tomoe was nearly tackled but a freaked out father, " HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY!"

Mikage wailed and Tomoe whimpered from the hold, It was comforting and yet he didn't understand. It hurt but his heart felt.. Warm.. Tomoe whimpered slightly as Mikage hugged him..

" Tomoe.. Come home, " The man smiled and Tomoe rubbed his eyes before nodding.

For some reason his heart was calling that place his home, and these people his family... and he liked the sound of it. But hey? Who was going to admit something like that?

* * *

 _ **A Week Later**_

* * *

Tomoe cursed and looked at the tea directions AGAIN.

Nope... His thoughts were to twisted for him even to think straight! He couldn't figure it out at all. Did the herbs go in the seeper, or outside the seeper? And what went in first?

The fox ground his teeth and ran a hand through his hair until he heard a slight gasp; He turned around to see Silver looking at the kitchen mortified, his mouth hanging open slightly. He was grinding his teeth in anger. To be truthful his little vacation was no help, and it didn't prepare him for this!

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Tomoe's ears sunk and he swallowed. "Um W-Well..."

"I asked you a question Tomoe! What an earth did you do to the shrine?! I left you for a week and already this place is a mess!" Silver roared in anger.

His eyes went to the burnt bits of the shrine, some of the area had stains that couldn't be identified and the table had discolouring on it which meant that someone had used the wrong cleaning item or someone had stained it by putting a drink or some food onto the table and didn't bother to clean it. Just seeing it made Silver sick slightly but resisted for he was too angry to feel anything.

Tomoe swallowed and looked away from the stove where hot water was boiling. He looked around and noticed the torn floor from where he threw a plate, messy corners and tea herbs on the floor. He winced to himself, knowing full well this looked awful. But he was trying and that's what mattered right?

"I was trying to make tea" He whispered, " Um... and, I have been trying to maintain it. It is my first time doing something like this you know." Tomoe huffed slightly and crossed his arms, He didn't think it looked as bad as Silver was letting on.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THIS LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE THREW AN EXPLOSIVE ITEM IN HERE!" Silver roared out causing Tomoe to cringe.

Tomoe then kicked a pan and sat in the corner, embarrassed at his other failure in making tea. The pan hit Silver square in the head by accident.

Silver turned to give him the most foulest look to date.

"Did you just kick a pan at my head you stupid idiot?! Is your aim so bad that you would just kick something like that at me whenever you feel like it?" Silver asked angrily while resisting the urge to snap.

The past week had been horrific, not once did he get an ounce of sleep and it was showing via his eyes had he not used at transformation leave to hide them.

Even after all this, he had somehow wondered about what was going on at the shrine. Now that the red head was going to say it out loud but now that he was here he immediately regretted it now.

Tomoe stared at him with wide eyes as he stared at the livid look that appeared on Silver's face. He whimpered and ran out in embarrassment,

"Sorry if I can't do anything that you can! Baka!" He fumed and stomped out in a huff, "Its not my fault you could double as a housewife!" Silver's eyes glinted in anger.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Silver roared angrily. "I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KEEP THINGS IN ORDER WHEN SOMEONE LEAVES?! I REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT GIVEN WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED NOW! HOW CAN I TRUST YOU TO MENTAIN ANYTHING WHEN YOU CAN'T DO THE MOST SIMPLIST THING YOU DELINQUINT?!" Silver continued to rant.

Tomoe turned a glare towards him, " ITS NOT EASY BAKA! I've been trying but everythings been thrown in my face! At least I tried! Not everyone can be Mr. Perfect like you! I'm new to this and you expect me to be perfect at it? That's really immature you know! I don't know what I ever did to you but I'm tired of you acting like everything is MY fault, that I'M the problem. You call me a delinquent but sometimes I wonder if that's what you are!" Tomoe fumed and clenched his fist, "AND THAT PAN WASN'T AIMED AT YOU IDIOT!"

Silver glared in anger.

"Then work on your aim you foolish delinquent! And also who said that I am perfect? Unlike you I actually asked for help whenever I was stuck on something! Which I am sure is something you have NOT been doing in when you were 'trying' to maintain the place!" Silver snapped harshly while resisting the urge to rub the sore spot.

Tomoe fumes, "I DO! But every time I try I get in the blooming way! I'm supposed to be a familiar! What type of Familiar asks for help!?" He cursed and fumed in embarrassment, "I should know already"

"An idiot who can't even ask for help! Seriously why am I here again? Why did I even bother to come back?!" Silver snapped.

"ITS NOT MY FAULT YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE! THAT YOU KNOW HOW AND I DON'T! ITS NOT MY FAULT I DON'T DO THINGS YOUR WAY! I CAN'T COOK AND I DO TO CLEAN CORRECTLY! YOU'RE JUST TO PICKY! I guess the legend is true about Red heads and their stinkin temper and perfectionist attitude!" Tomoe bit back, Silver continued to glare.

"Excuse me?! At least I put the effort into what I am doing! You just whine like nobodies business and it's getting to the point that I can't stand it! I'm starting to regret coming back! If I had known that this was going to be what I would come back to, I would have just stayed there!" Silver roared back in anger.

Tomoe glares, "I DON'T NEED SOMEONE LIKE YOU SCREAMING AT ME ALL DAY TO TEACH ME A THING! I'M OUT!" Tomoe yells.

The next thing Silver said involved a curse as he spoke about how Tomoe was defiling the place from where he stood.

Tomoe turned rigid from being called something so cruel and he started to feel his rage build up. He turned and glared as his teeth show malice, "GO TO-!" He paused himself from the curse, " YOU THINK YOU'RE GROWN UP!? LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT DEFILES THE PLACE THAT I STAND IN!" He started to stomp off.

"And by the way!" Tomoe turned and cursed,"I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU CAME BACK! Because all you do is ridicule! I hate having to put up with you glaring at me everyday just because I'm different from you!" The teen fumed and stormed out in anger. He slamed the door harshly; not caring about the frame at all, what Tomoe doesn't know is that Mikage is the garden (Or is just ignoring) the fighting teens.

Tomoe fumeed as he stood outside; he ground his teeth and cursed to himself.

"WHY AM I HERE!?" He screamed and huffed, "I can't do anything! I'm always looked down on. Why can't it just all leave me alone!" He kicked a rock and let it hit a tree; He huffed but controled his foxfire.

Silver on the other hand roared in anger before slamming the beam closest to him in anger. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to punch the whiny fox in the face.

Mikage entered from hearing the sudden noise and winced as Silver growled and cursed as he tried to soak up the tea and other things. "You should have seen him." The God sighed, " We weren't JUST sitting back Silver. Tomoe was trying to do things that you would do" The god smiled, "Almost as if he was trying to mimic your actions"

Silver turned to glare at Mikage.

"And yet no one bothered to help? You can see how much he's damaged the place! There's soot, burn marks and stains all over the place! What have you been doing? Were just you watching him messing around or were just watching him and doing nothing as he destroyed the place?" Silver seethed in anger as he continued to scrub.

Mikage looks at him and winced, "We did, but me and Tomoe aren't on good terms right now and Inari and him clash big time. He's completely inexperienced in these things. How is a person who starved supposed to know how to cook Silver?"

"And yet no one bothered to teach him or tell him that he was doing something wrong? You just allowed it to happen?!" Silver snapped at his master, not caring if it was a bad thing.

He sighed, "We tried helping but Tomoe was trying to get in a good position... He tried making tea all night long."

"Oh why not give him an applause shall we? After all tea is the most 'hardest' thing ever to make!" Silver snapped while slapping the rag on to the sighed,

"I know it's hard to wait. But patience is a virtue we all need. You may be younger but Tomoe hasn't seen things that you have seen" He sighed, "Have you really hated it ever since he came here?" Silver continued to glare.

"Who said that I have? I may not be comfortable in having another fox in this house but I have tried, I really have Mikage but enough is enough! I shouldn't have come back! I am LEAVING!" Silver bellowed as he stood up sharply.

Mikage went pale before he shook in his shock and gaped at the red head,

"W-Wha? What do you mean? Young man, where do you think your going!?"

"Where do you think? I am going back? It's clear that I can't focus here now that the work load has increased by nine! There's even a hole in the roof Mikage! Have you not even hired people to clean or fix the area? I-I need to get out of here while my sanity is still intact. I can't breathe in here!" Silver said now walking out the room and marched down the hallway. Part of him was thankful for not moving his stuff from the area he was staying in, however there were some bits he did want to bring with him since he had forgotten them last time.

Mikage blinked in shock, " S-Silver! This isn't the thing to do because you're stressed! You may think you have to do a lot but that's not what me and Inari see. You're a great kid. I know its stressful but if you just-"

"Just what?!" Silver fumed and glared at him, " I can't take this anymore Mikage! He's always sitting back and doing nothing while I have to do everything! I'm tired of working myself to death! I have tried when Tomoe came but he just makes the load worse, and your no exception! I'm leaving and you can't stop me!' Silver fumed and went for his bags as Mikage gasped at him shock. He was pale as he watched the teen grab his bags and march out the door.

"Y-Young man! This is not smart on your part!" Mikage gasped out but Silver ignored him as his ears flattened. Mikage knew Tomoe tried to do a runner but this wasn't Tomoe, This was Silver. What could he do in regards to Silver?

Tomoe on the other hand was sitting on the porch with his arms crossed; he was cursing to himself and glaring ahead until he saw Silver stomp out with bags in hand. The white haired fox arched his brow in confusion as to what he was watching.

"Silver stop please!" Mikage cried as he chased after Silver.

"Enough! Stop following me! My mind is made up and you are not talking me out of this!" Silver bellows as he goes into the garden area where the lake was. He took a deep breath as he examined his reflection while grabbing the strap of his bag.

Mikage whined, "Silver! What am I supposed to do? He's a lot like you were when you first became a familiar! He's just needs to learn a little-"

Silver sent him a cold glare before looking back at the lake, "He is NOTHING like me!"

Mikage bit his lip in frustration as Tomoe walked from the porch and followed them in confusion. He almost stopped when he saw the lake but he didn't care as he looked up and saw Silver and Mikage arguing. Mikage looked panicked as Silver stared down into the water, and to Tomoe's horror? He leaned forward and let himself fall towards the water.

This made Tomoe panic as he lunged forward and grabbed Silver's Hakama. Silver turned to glare at him while masking his panic.

"Let go you fool!" Silver roared as Tomoe looked down and gasped when he saw the surface of the water. Memoires of nearly drowning entered his mind as he quickly held onto Silver in a tight panicked hug that almost resulting in digging his claws into Silver as they both went towards the water, crashing into the water before sinking into its depts slowly.

Mikage twitched in shock before rushing towards the lake " WHAT THE-?"

* * *

"Let go I will be fine you idiot!" Silver yelled before air left his lips.

Tomoe shook his head as they sunk, half not wanting anything to happen to Silver and half not wanting to die. He hated the water and he trembled when he clung to the fox, not noticing Silver going pale from lack of air.

Very soon the space around them vanished leaving them stuck in mid air, before long they began to plummet like a stone.

Tomoe gasped as they fell through the air and he closed his eyes as they got closer to the ground. He didn't let go of Silver until they started falling and they separated due to the gravity's pull. The fox's hair blew about him as he fell towards the ground below him, not expecting to hit it wrongly and a loud crack sound through the air. Tomoe wailed out in severe pain as his other hand shot up to his shoulder, he cried out and gripped his shoulder tightly, A waile came out of his mouth, echoing out of him and around him.

"AHH!" Tomoe screamed out in pain. It hurt his shoulder but it shot down his side as well, what had just happened!?

Silver immediately removed himself from Tomoe and glared as he tried to help Tomoe sit up.

"You fool! Why did you do that?! I was fine you interfering dummy!" Silver hissed as he checked the injury, the red head bit his lip before he harshly popped the arm back into the shoulder socket.

Tomoe screamed out in shock and pain, his claws dug into the ground as he hissed and whimpered out. It hurt so much but as soon as Silver popped it back Tomoe's arm went numb.

He ground his teeth in shock, until he looked around and stared at the world around them.

"I- I thought you..." Tomoe chokes in pain and rubbed his shoulder, the pain was still there causing the fox to make his ears pin down, " I thought you were suicidal! Who in their right mind jumps into a lake!?" Tomoe hissed out from being called a fool but he was to shocked to say anything else, tears stream down his face from the pain before the sight of where they were had caught his attention.

Right in front of them was a olden traditional Japanese house that almost resembled the Mikage shrine, only it held more elegance and was blue while containing a white glow creating a holy effect presence like effect.

 _Just where were they?_

* * *

 _ **Duh, Duh, DUH! It looks like Silver and Tomoe can't get along at all, Plus Silver is Sleep deprived and dealing with Past Demons, while Tomoe is having a hard time fitting in..**_

 _ **T: SHUT UP ALREADY WOMAN!"**_

 _ **Me:" Glares, " NO!'**_

 _ **S:" ZZzzzz...'**_

 _ **Me: ' Looks at Silver and then Ai' " Should we wake him?"**_

 _ **Ai: -_- Nope, Unless You want him to quit before we write the next chapter...'**_

 _ **T ; Smirks and Kicks Silver, " SLACKER!"**_

 _ **S:" Opens his eyes and glares, " YOU ARE SO-Censored -**_

 _ **End Of Chapter**_


End file.
